Crossing Paths
by MicheTZJX
Summary: After the fourth great shinobi war, all nations suffered a great loss of shinobis and are constantly helping each other. Kumogakure asks Konohagakure a favor that involves a certain blonde haired kunoichi and her clan's jutsus. Along the way, loves comes in as both a complication and a blessing that involves a dear teammate and an elite Kumo jounin- a bodyguard of the Raikage.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello to anyone reading this! This is my first ever naruto fan fiction on this site. I just got out of finals season and figured to do something to relieve my post exam stress and anxiety aka writing. Anyways, please bear with my bad writing skills ( i was never great at English but I still love to write and read lol)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and the characters.

This story sets when Kakashi is Hokage and everyone in Konoha 11 are all promoted to jounins.

* * *

In Kumogakure.

"We've got a problem Raikage-sama," The new assistant said as she walked inside the Raikage's office.

"Well, what is it?" Raikage said as he looks out the window.

" There's no shinobi qualified and skilled enough to interrogate the mind of the criminal we caught at the borders. He can be deemed as a threat to the village and to other nations" The assistant said.

"There's no one? Absolutely no one ?" The Raikage said.

"Positive Raikage-sama, ever since the war, we lost a lot of our skilled mind interrogators. And—"

" There's no one in the village skilled enough or experienced enough to do it and it requires precise and careful chakra control. Am I right ?" the Raikage said.

"Yes, Raikage-sama. I purpose asking the other nations for help "The assistant said.

"There's no need to," the Raikage said.

"What do you mean Raikage-sama?" The assistant said

"The only nation we need to ask is the fire nation, in other words, the leaf village. The Yamanaka clan and reside there" The Raikage said.

"Good choice." There's also something I need to tell you" The assistant said.

"what is it?" the Raikage said.

"Both the sixth Hokage and Naruto invited Bee for Dinner and Bee promised that you'll come to," The assistant said.

" WHAT…well what can I do now, I have to go unless I don't go and that'll be rude. When is it "the Raikage said.

"Indeed Raikage-sama. the Dinner is in 5 days so-"

"it's best we start walking to Konoha tomorrow. Very well then. make sure to notify both C and Darui and fill them in "the Raikage said.

"Yes, Raikage-sama," The assistant said.

* * *

Makori – the newest Raikage's assistant contacts C and Darui and both jounins arrive in no less than 5 minutes.

" You called us ?" C asked curiously.

" Both the sixth Hokage and Naruto invited Bee and Raikage for dinner and you guys are to depart tomorrow,"The assistant said.

"Alright,", Darui said

"Got it," C said.

And both jounins exit.

* * *

It was a sunny day in the village of clouds, both bodyguards of the Raikage were strolling around and enjoying the peaceful environment.

"You excited ?" Darui asked

"About what? Heading to Konoha ?" C said back.

"Yea, we should at least treat as a mini vacation since we're going to be there for a few days. " Darui said.

"I suppose. Ever since the war, everyone in the village had been non-stop working and repairing damages" C said.

"That's the spirit, you gotta let loose and have some fun every so often," Darui said.

"Hn" C said.

While both jounins were strolling around, C couldn't help but think about something else that has been bothering his mind ever since this morning.

 _Earlier :_

 _C went to visit his mother since he promised to have breakfast with her. Both mother and son were eating their breakfast in peace till his mother bought up something that he's been dreading to hear._

" _C dear, when are you going to bring home a lady friend of yours? You know I'm not going to wait forever, Sooner or later I won't be here anymore and I'm not getting younger too" C's mother said._

" _Mother, that won't be anytime soon. Ever since the war, Raikage-sama has been getting everyone busy as ever. And I don't have a girlfriend or "Lady friend". I don't have the time to, I'm a busy person." C said as he was a busy shinobi._

" _Don't bring up that excuse, you're already 26 almost hitting 30 in a few years and you've only brought home a girl once. " His mother said._

 _C listened to his mother and didn't say anything. He continued to finish his breakfast in silence._

" _Mom, can we talk about something else," C asked as he was eating his breakfast_

" _Fine, so how's work," C's mother said as she sighed._

 _It's not that she wants C to date for the sake of herself but for the sake of her son. She noticed that ever since the end of the Fourth Shinobi War, C started to become a bit depressed and distant after losing many of his colleagues. She knows that it's just a phase he's going through but as his mother, it saddens her to see him go through it. She wants the best for him –that is, being happy._

"So, anything exciting going on your life ?" Darui asked as he munched on some dangos.

"Besides my mother asking about my love life this morning, nothing. " C said as he sipped his tea.

"Ah, the usual I guess. How long has it been? Since you last dated that is" Darui asked with a smirk.

"Not you too. And come on, we knew each other for years already, you should know " C said.

"I honestly don't remember, I forgot " Darui teased with a smirk.

C laughs at Darui pretending to not know and sighs.

"it's been 5 years, bad break up," C said and looks down

"bad breakup?" Darui asked.

"No kidding, actually not a bad breakup but it was just bad what caused the relationship to end. " C said as he gulped down the burning hot tea down his throat.

"Shit, that was hot. I shouldn't have done that" C said as he touches his throat.

"No shit sherlock," Darui said with a laugh.

"At least you moved on already… right ?" Darui said as he raised his left eyebrow- that is if its visible since his hair covers half of his face.

"Long time ago," C said.

"That's great, so you're ready to be in a new relationship," Darui said excitedly for his close friend.

"Sure, well that's only if someone catches my eye," C said as he smirks at his teammate.

"Very true" Darui said and laughed.

The two jounins enjoy their meal and continue to talk about their life and problems.

* * *

Meanwhile in Konoha

"Hokage-sama" Shizune said as she enters Hokage's room.

"Can you drop the sama and don't be soo overly formal" Kakashi said the 100000th time already ever since becoming the sixth hokage and which caused Shizune chuckle at his statement.

"Well it's hard not to since I'm so used to addressing Tsunande-sama soo formally. Anyways, getting straight to the point, the Raikage and B are heading to Konoha in a day from now for the dinner you and Naruto planned " Shizune said.

"Ah that's right, that should be in 5 days. Make sure to notify me when they arrive"Kakashi said as he turns his back towards her and faces the windows giving him a view of Konoha.

"Oh yeah, how's the interrogation and torture unit? Hokage-sama" Shizune asked curiously.

Kakashi sighs because Shizune has addressed him with the "sama" but gives up telling her again. Truth to be told, he's not used to/ doesn't it like when his colleagues addresses him so formally now that he's the Sixth Hokage. Also, it reminds him that he's not getting any younger at the same time. In fact, he's already forming a belly now that he hasn't trained in a while and that being cooped up in a room for hours doesn't make it any better.

"It's been going well. Ever since Ibiki took Ino yamanaka as his apprentice , things have been better than ever. Everyone in the department have been raving about her skills and that she already surpassed her father in a long run" Kakashi said proudly.

"That's great ! leave it to the daughter of Inoichi to be one of Konoha's high ranking chief of the intelligence division. Also hard work and determination" Shizune said and smiles as she thinks about the young kunoichi.

Kakashi nods and observes the scenery of Konoha quietly until his stomach grumbles.

"Looks like it's time for lunch. I'm heading to Ichiraku" Kakashi said as he secretly hopes that Naruto is there so can eat his lunch with someone he knows.

"Alright Hokage-sama " Shizune said as she bows.

* * *

Kakashi exits the room and as he was about to pass by his assistant's room – Shikamaru, he decides to ask him if he's available to accompany him to lunch. The door to Shikamaru's room is not completely closed but ajar. He sneaks a peak and sees Shikamaru and Yurito ( Shikamaru's right hand man) working diligently. Mentally deciding that they should take a break now, he knocks the door a few times.

"Come in " Shikamaru said but doesn't bother to look up till the last second when he realizes it's Kakashi.

"Yo, It's already 12:30 have you guys ate?" Kakashi asked.

"Oh crap it's 12:30? Thanks for reminding me Kakashi , Choji invited Yurito and I for lunch at 1:30 and I'm meeting up with Ino in a bit. " Shikamaru said as he stands up and arrange some files. Shikamaru winces as he feels pain on his forearm .

"Oh can I come along Shikamaru senpai ?" Yurito asked and at the same time want to get some fresh air after being cooped up in the room for hours. Shikamaru nods at Yurito telling him that he can come along.

"Oh I see , and no problem !" Kakashi said as he sees them exit the room.

"See you later Hokage-sama !"Yurito said cheerfully

"See ya," Shikamaru said.

Shikamaru and Yurito leave the room leaving Kakashi all by himself debating whether this is a sign of old age or sighs and hopes that Naruto is there . Well that's because, he prefers to eat with someone rather than in silence and alone.

* * *

A few days ago, Shikamaru returned back from a week long mission with his teammates. He and his team returned with little to no injuries. However unbeknownst to his team, his forearm has been in pain every time he moves it. Not wanting his teammates to worry, he kept it as a secret.

"Where are we going to senpai ?" Yurito asked as he was walking side by side with Shikamaru.

"We're going to see Ino", Shikamaru said

"Oh so I'm assuming that we're either going to the hospital , the torture & interrogation unit, or the Yamanka flower shop ?" Yurito asked.

"The hospital", Shikamaru said.

"Is something wrong senpai ?" Yurito said.

"No, why'd you ask ?" Shikamaru said.

"Well, usually people go to the hospital to either get their injuries treated or visit someone right?

"oh, it's nothing serious. It's just something minor" Shikamaru said.

Shikamaru and Yurito arrive at the hospital and sees that it's not crazy busy but at the same time, it wasn't dead quiet.

"Hi, how may I help you?" the nurse asked.

"I'd like to know what room Ino Yamanaka is at, " Shikamaru asked.

"Oh, she's in her room at the moment, in room 123", the nurse said as she looked at a file.

"Arigatou", both Shikamaru and Yurito said.

Shikamaru and Yurito walks to Ino's room and they see that the door is ajar. As they were about to knock..

"Come in, I know it's you guys Shikamaru and Yurito, " Ino said as she was looking at medical reports.

Yurito was amazed at how Ino was so easily able to know that it was them whereas, Shikamaru displayed no emotion.

"She's the sensor type, so don't be that surprised " Shikamaru said to Yurito as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Okay, what do you want Shikamaru? I know you won't come to a hospital unless you have an injury or something. As far as I know, you hate going to hospitals right?" Ino asked as she raised one of her eyebrows.

"You got me . Anyways, I think I sprained my forearm or something because whenever I move it, it hurts " Shikamaru said as he touched it.

"Hm let me check", Ino said as she rolled up his sleeves and inspect it.

As Ino touches his forearm, Shikamaru starts to feel hot and his stomach starts to feel weird. Ever since the war, every time Ino would touch him , he would instantly feel hot . He didn't know why and didn't give it much thought about it. He figured that it was something not serious so he decided to ignore it thinking that it'll go away just like what he's doing right now. He then observes what Ino is doing to him. She pinches a part of his forearm which causes him to wince

"It looks like that you sprained a tendon Shika. I'm assuming that it's been 3-5 days since you sprained it am I right ?" Ino asked with a stern look

"Yup" Shikamaru said as he rubs the part of his arm that Ino just pinched.

"Shika! How many times do I have to tell you always have to get it checked the day you return back from the mission ?" Ino lectured to Shikamaru causing Yurito to laugh at the scene.

"I don't know, like 1000000000 times", Shikamaru said and kept quiet.

"You should know better, " Ino said as she started to treat his sprained tendon in his forearm.

Ino places her two hands on his forearm and starts to heal him using the mystic palm technique or what Naruto calls it, "the green glow" . As she heals his forearm Shikamaru winces in pain, Ino sees his face and chuckles.

"Suck it up Shika and it'll go away in like 1…2…3…." Ino said as she finishes healing him.

"There you go, it should be healed now. Try flexing it . " Ino said.

Listening to his teammate, he tried flexing and feels no pain at all.

"Wow, that's amazing Ino-chan", Yurito said.

"Oh it's nothing at it's just the basics " Ino said happily as she scratched the back of her neck.

"Thanks for healing me Ino", Shikamaru said as he rolls down his sleeves.

"You're lucky that you have a medical ninja as your teammate senpai, " Yurito said.

"He's right Shika, you're lucky that you have to pay like nothing in comparison to other people. But anyways, remember to lay low on your workload. You shouldn't be carrying anything heavy at the moment. Remember, rest more and work less. " Ino said to Shikamaru.

"Then I should count my blessings "Shikamaru said with a smirk.

"You better or I'll charge you at full price next time you come to me with an injury " Ino threatened him.

"Troublesome, " Shikamaru said.

"What are you going to do for the rest of the day Ino-chan ?" Yurito asked.

"Oh, nothing much. I'm going to be cleaning this room since I won't be here often as before. I'm going to be mainly at the torture and interrogation unit from now on since we just recruited new interims. And plus, despite the tense atmosphere there it's actually quite fun to be there once you get to know everyone " Ino said with a smile as she arranged some files .

"Oh I see, you're on your break now right ?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes, why ?" Ino asked back.

"Wanna join us for lunch? Chouji is going to be there " Shikamaru said.

" I can't, Ibiki organized a lunch with some of the new interns and wants me to come. Sorry Shika ,but next time ? "Ino apologetically said.

"Definitely, well I should get going then. See ya" Shikamaru said as he walks out of her room.

"See ya", Ino said to them.

* * *

"Ah man, I was hoping Ino-chan would come. I have so many questions to ask about the torture and interrogation unit ?" Yurito said.

"Oh, interested in her ?" Shikamaru asked.

"Oh, no not like that. Ino-chan is nice and all but she's not my type senpai" Yurito said.

"Understandable " Shikamaru said.

"But she's extremely pretty, don't you think so as her teammate " Yurito asked with a smirk but at the same time wanting to know his reaction to his blond teammate.

"She's troublesome " Shikamaru said.

"Senpai !" Yurito said.

Shikamaru smiles and laughs at Yurito's reaction.

" _That kid is predictable but it is fun to have him around." Shikamaru said in his head._


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Voila, here is the next chapter! Thank you soo much for the support and that every review , follows and view counts! I never thought that anyone would read this tbh lmao. BUT THANK YOUUU.

Oh yeah, the Kumo characters are a bit OC because they're personalities weren't exposed as much so I had a bit of difficulty imagining what they're actually like. And also, I haven't decided the main pairing so XD

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and the characters

* * *

Chapter 2

Five days later

"Yo! Say! Ho! You know my name, you know my fame, don't be lame! Eight-Tails, that's me, da rappin, Killer Bee " B rapped crazily

"We're almost there B, calm down with your rap " The Raikage demanded.

Shikamaru was waiting for the Raikage and B at the entrance. In order to kill some time, he looks up to the sky and observes the clouds floating aimlessly and silently. It was quiet for a few minutes till he hears someone's weirdass rap.

"Bakayarō! Konoyarō!" B said

"Where have I heard that rap before, it sounds so familiar .. oh wait, that's B's rap! " Shikamaru said in his head as he rubs his chin with his index finger.

A few seconds later, he sees the Raikage, B, and their body guards.

"Welcome back to Konoha Raikage-same and B- sama. I am the Hokage's assistant, Shikamaru , and these must be your two guards , C and Darui am I right ?" Shikamaru said as he sticks out his hand to offer a handshake to them

"It's nice to meet you Shikamaru, I heard that Kakashi speaks highly of you, " Raikage said as he shakes hands with Shikamaru.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm C, " C said seriously.

"It's nice to meet you too, " Shikamaru said

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Darui, " Darui said

"It's nice to meet you too, " Shikamaru said once again

"This way please," Shikamaru said as he leads the way to Kakashi.

* * *

"Lord Hokage-sama," Shizune said as she enters the Hokage's room.

"Can you drop the sama part and don't be so overly formal with me… Anyways, what is it ?" Kakashi said as he takes a break from writing scrolls for two hours straight.

"The Raikage and B have arrived," Shizune said.

"Oh, already? " Kakashi said

"Yes, Hokage-sama. Shikamaru is currently with them. " Shizune said.

"Notify Naru-"

"I'M HERE KAKASHI HOKAGE-SAMA" Naruto yelled with enthusiasm as he came out of nowhere.

"Yep, he is indeed the number one most unpredictable ninja despite being an S-rank shinobi, "Kakashi said in his head.

"Alright Naruto, let's go greet the Raikage and B, " Kakashi said

Naruto nods at Kakashi and walks with him to greet the Raikage and B.

* * *

Meanwhile in the meeting room .

"Shikamaru, " The Raikage said.

"Yes, Raikage-sama?" Shikamaru said with a stern look.

"Tell me about yourself, " Raikage said as he wanted to engage Shikamaru in a conversation to pass some time.

"Well, for starters, I am the Hokage's assistant. I am from the Nara clan, the son of Shikaku Nara. I am in Team 10 and we specialize in the Ino-Shika- Cho formation whenever we engage with enemies in missions. " Shikamaru said.

"The Ino-Shika- Cho formation, hmm that means that your teammates are from the Yamanaka clan and the Akimichi clan right ?" C said with a confident look on his face.

"Bingo"

"And since you're the son of Shikaku then that means that your teammates are the daughter or son of Choza Akimichi and Inoi-"

"The Hokage and Naruto are here," Shizune said as Naruto and Kakashi walk in.

"Welcome back to Konoha Lord Raikage-sama and B-sama," Kakashi said with a smile.

" Yo Octo-pops and Raikage-sama, " Naruto said with a smile and a wave.

"Yo! Say! Ho! You know my name, you know my fame, don't be lame! Eight-Tails, that's me, da rappin, Killer Bee" B rapped crazily.

"Oh hey Naruto, how's it going, " the Raikage asked.

"Awesome!I hope you guys are hungry because we're going to be feastin' " Naruto said with excitement.

"We're looking forward to it! We just got here not too long ago and we're starving " The Raikage said.

"Well, since everyone is already hungry we should go now. " Kakashi said.

Both B and Raikage get up and as they were about to leave with them, Naruto retreated his steps to tell C and Darui something.

"Oh yeah, C and Darui " Naruto said as he was about to leave.

"Yea Naruto what is it ?" Darui said.

"If you're looking for somewhere to have dinner at, I highly recommend Ichiraku's ramen! They make the best Ramen in the world, right Shikamaru ?"

"Tch, yea yea, whatever you say. Naruto, you should go, Kakashi and the Raikage are waiting for you. They're not going to wait for you all day " Shikamaru said as he leans on the door frame with one leg bent and against the door and his hands shoved in his pockets.

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Naruto " Darui said.

"Alright, see you guys, " Naruto said as he runs back to Kakashi, the Raikage, and B.

* * *

"I'm going to leave you guys here. You guys know where the exit is. I have some matters to take of right now so, see ya " Shikamaru said with his hands on the back of his head and exits the room.

"See ya, " Darui said.

Shikamaru leaves the room leaving Darui and C all by themselves. They chat and rest for a bit till they hear their stomachs grumble.

"Want to get something to eat " C asked.

"Sure, let's go walk around and see what's there, "Darui said.

Both C and Darui stroll around Konoha. They see that there's a night market festival being held. They hear loud music, see kids playing around, and see people eating at the food vendors, and etc.

"The night markets here aren't as lively as ours, " C said as he looks around the festival

"Whatever, at least it's not dull. " Darui said.

C and Darui walked some more exploring Konoha and they come across a busy ramen place. The delicious aroma of the ramen make their way to C and Darui and fills their nose.

"Let's check out that Ramen place, " Darui said.

"Isn't this Ichiraku? The ramen place that Naruto recommended " C said as he looks at the restaurant's logo.

"Oh, it is. Since Naruto recommended it to us, wanna give it a try ?" Darui asked as he looks at C.

C observes the restaurant some more and sees that there's menu framed that says " Naruto's Top Picks".

"Yea, let's try it but I don't think the ramen back at the village " C said condescendingly.

"Let's just hope their ramen aren't dull, " Darui said

The two Kumo juonins walk in the restaurant and are immediately seated despite the busy atmosphere. The restaurant is bustling with people and ramen. A lot of shinobis and their family were happily having dinner. There were also groups of shinobis getting together for a drink or two. Ichiraku's business has been better than ever.

Both C and Darui ended up getting the large miso char siu ramen. The ramen dish was listed under Naruto's Top Pick in the menu. The two juonins were pleasantly surprised by its rich flavor and the portion. The large ramen bowl was hot and steamy and had large cuts of glistening char-siu, fish cakes, vegetables, and a flavorful broth. Mesmerized by the beauty of the ramen, the two men wasted no second and chowed down the bowl of noodles. Boy, were they full. They were so full that they could hardly walk.

" I can see why Naruto recommended this place "

"Same"

* * *

"So how's the food Raikage –sama and Octo-pops ?" Naruto said as he chowed down some delicious yakisoba.

"It's delicious Naruto, " The Raikage said happily.

"What about you Bee-sama," Kakashi asked as he picked up some vegetables and ate it.

"Yo, It's so, it's so good. " B said.

"Glad you guys are enjoying the dinner, " Kakashi said with a smile.

"Lord Hokage," The Raikage said and puts his chopsticks down.

After hearing the tone of the Raikage's voice, Naruto, Kakashi, and B stopped eating and also set their chopsticks down. By listening to the tone of his voice, it was clear that the Raikage was serious so they listened intently.

" Yes Lord Raikage? Is something wrong ?" Kakashi asked.

"Well I have a favor to ask you "

"Alright, go ahead and tell me. We're all good friends here, there's nothing to worry "

"Well ever since the fourth great shinobi war, we lost a lot of shinobis "

"We lost a lot of talented shinobis, " Kakashi said.

" And a few days ago, we ran into a problem "

"What kind of problem ?"

"Well, we captured a criminal at the borders and since he can be deemed as a threat to the village and to other nations, we needed to know what was going in his mind, in other words, we need to know his intentions. However, because of the war, we don't have any shinobis in the village skilled and qualified enough to interrogate his mind at the moment. Our interrogation and torture unit is still underdeveloped and we can't risk the life of other shinobis. My favor to you is, is it possible if you can lend me a few juonins you have here, preferably a Yamanaka and Ibiki Morino? " The Raikage said with a tough look on his face.

"Hm," Kakashi said as he closed his eyes to think.

"What do you think Kakashi-sensei ?" Naruto turned his head and asked.

"I'd gladly help you and Kumohagakure Raikage-sama"

"Thank you soo much, " The Raikage said as he bent down with his knees and bowed down to Kakashi.

"Oh no no, you shouldn't have lord Raikage, " Kakashi said as he quickly got the Raikage to stand up.

" I must. Also" The Raikage said.

"I have something to tell you lord Raikage, " Kakashi said.

"What is it ?" The Raikage said.

"unfortunately, Inoichi Yamanaka passed away during the war" Kakashi said.

" What!? " The Raikage said shockingly.

"It's unfortunate to lose someone so experienced and talented-"

"But rest assured Raikage-sama, we have someone in equal levels as him." Naruto said

"Who?" The Raikage said.

" The newly appointed top chief of the torture and interrogation unit – Ino Yamanaka " Kakashi said.

"Isn't' she Inoichi's daughter? And, isn't she inexperienced" The Raikage said and questioned.

"Yes, and me, she's more than qualified and skilled enough " Kakashi said.

"Fine, you have my trust Lord Hokage "The Raikage said.

Now that the serious conversation between the Raikage and Hokage ended, Naruto seized this chance to make a toast. The four of them toasted and ate to their delight. After the dinner, the four of them decided to stroll around Konoha to burn off some calories.

* * *

The morning after

Darui and C were given some free time in the morning since B and the Raikage were invited for Breakfast from both Naruto and Kakashi.

"So how was your sleep C, " Darui asked as they walked around Konoha.

"It was alright, I had better nights. What about you " C said as he rubbed his neck.

"It was alright too, " Darui said.

"Remember that the Raikage told us to meet them at the unit and interrogation unit at noon sharp," C said seriously to remind Darui.

"Yeah yeah," Darui said

Darui and C decided to explore Konoha some more. They had breakfast at a nearby restaurant and chatted for a bit. During their stroll, C sees a flower shop and it reminds him of what his mother said the day before he left for Konoha.

 _The day they left for Konoha:_

 _"Your Father bought home some flowers the other day but he has no idea how to take care of them. So now I'm the one taking care of them instead of him but I must say that he has great taste. He bought some lilies and roses and they're very pretty. " His mother said as she waters them._

* * *

Konoha was not only home to beautiful flowers but also natural beauties. Being born with good genes and inheriting it to the future generations. The Yamanaka clan, in particular, consisted of some pretty good looking people thanks to their lucky genes. Ino Yamanaka was one of "Konoha's flowers". After maturing into full grown women, her looks and charms blossomed and won many men over. In other words, everyone was in awe of her beauty. She was born with the perfect blue eyes that resemble the ocean, the perfect not so pale skin, slender yet curvy figure, and long legs. She was every Konoha men shinobi's dream girl and woman crush. However, Ino Yamanaka wasn't necessarily the type looking for a relationship. It's not that she's picky with men, it's more like she doesn't have the time to. Being the top chief in the Interrogation and torture unit, part-time medical ninja in the hospital, and managing her family's flower shop sucks up all her free time.

Sakura, one of Konoha's top medicalist, was just returning back her place from doing some errands. On her way home, she passes by Yamanaka's flowers and sneaks a glance at the shop. She sees the young blond haired kunoichi making bouquets for some customers.

"Oh Ino, you're here. I thought you were working at the Torture & Interrogation unit with Ibiki-san " Sakura said to Ino.

"Oh hey, Sakura. I was an hour ago but Ibiki-san let me off early since I've been working since 6 am today. He told me to get some rest so here I am! " Ino said chirpily. She was glad that Ibiki let her off early so she can relax a bit and not being cooped up in that gloomy place.

" I also have to go to the hospital to clean my room a bit more and then I have to be at the torture & interrogation unit to meet the Raikage "

"The Raikage? For what ?" Sakura questioned.

" Apparently, Ibiki and I have been appointed to work for them a bit since their village's torture & interrogation is still underdeveloped. And plus, it's going to be interesting to work in Kumo for a bit " Ino said.

"Well good luck! " Sakura said.

"Thanks, forehead, " Ino said and the two of them chat a bit more.

"I wanna get this flower papa it looks pretty! " A young little girl said to her father.

" Sure, but you have so many options honey, pick any, " The father said

Both Ino and Sakura smile at the precious moment between daughter and father. Ino sees that the daughter was having a hard time trying to choosing a flower. She walks towards the young girl and crouches down to her level.

" I see you're having a hard time choosing a flower sweetie," Ino said.

"There's just soo a lot of flowers and they're all so beautiful. Do you mind if you can help me onee-chan?" The young girl said with her cute doe eyes.

"Of course, you're soo cute, " Ino said as she caresses her cheek gently.

Ino looks around the selection of flowers carefully trying her best to find the perfect flower for the little girl. Her eyes lands on two types of flowers, the pansy, and the pink rose.

"What do you think of these two, the pansy and the pink rose, sweetie?" Ino said as she showed the two flowers to the young girl.

"Onee-chan, they're soo beautiful! "

"Aw, well I'm going to give these to you. Treat it as a special gift from me. "

"Arigatou onee-chan you're so helpful.

" You're welcome, do you wanna know what the each flower mean ?"

"Yes!" The young girl said excitedly.

"Well, the pink rose here symbolizes trust, happiness, and confidence. The pansy here symbolizes thoughtful and caring. I hope as you grow up into a beautiful confident woman with happiness with thoughtful and caring families and friends by your side sweetie. But, remember to also be thoughtful and caring to your loved ones back"

"Don't worry onee-chan, I most definitely will "

"Aw, you're too adorable. I'm going to wrap them up nicely for you so wait a few minutes " Ino said to the young girl.

As Ino was about to get up, she notices that the little girl scrapped her knee. She sees her mom and tells her to wrap the pansy and pink rose for her.

"Aw, what happened here ?" Ino said as she lightly inspects it.

"She accidentally tripped herself on her way to the park this morning, " Her father said.

"Oh I see, does it hurt ?" Ino asked the little girl.

"It kind of stings onee-chan " The little girl pouted.

"Well don't worry sweetie, onee-chan will fix it up for you, " Ino said and sees the little girl nod to her.

Ino observes the wound once more and uses the mystic palm technique to heal her knee.

During the time Ino was healing the knee, C and Darui stood in the background. In fact, they were there at the scene ever since Ino started helping the young girl. The two Kumo juonins were walking by and stopped. Darui notices that C was a bit behind him. He – Darui turned to see why and sees that C was looking and observing at the blonde florist and the young girl intently, more specifically at blonde florists. Her beauty and kindness were what captivated C and his attention.

 _"She knows the mystic palm technique, she must be a medical shinobi " C said in his head. C's train of thought was soon interrupted by the voice of his teammate and a hand waving right in front of his face._

"What are you staring at, C ?" Darui asked his teammate with a smirk.

"Oh, nothing. It's almost time to meet the Raikage, let's go " C told to Darui and walks to the Torture & interrogation unit, the place where the Raikage told them to meet at.

"Alright, whatever you say, " Darui said.

 _"Huh, that blond florists managed to get C's attention. I haven't seen a woman being able to do that since 5 years ago. She must be something then " Darui said in his head as he looked back to glance at the blonde florist._

* * *

C and Darui arrive at the Torture & Interrogation unit shortly after. They see that lord Raikage, B, lord Hokage, and Naruto haven't arrived yet. A few minutes later they see them. The Raikage, B, and the Kumo juonins were introduced to Ibiki Morino.

"This is Ibiki Morino, the commanding officer of Konoha's torture & interrogation force. " Kakashi said and introduced Ibiki to the Raikage.

"It's nice to meet you, Ibiki Morino, " The Raikage said.

"It is my pleasure to meet you Raikage-sama and B-sama. I am looking forward to working with you for the favor" Ibiki said.

"Where's Ino Yamanaka ?" Kakashi asked Ibiki.

"Oh, she's currently at the hospital. She told me that there's still a bit of stuff to clean in her room. She just mind- transmission-ed me to tell you she'll be here in an hour " Ibiki said to the Hokage.

"Alright, since Ino is going to be here in an hour, we'll use the time to tour the place for you Raikage," Kakashi said.

"Go ahead Hokage and also Ibiki"

"Yes, Raikage-sama ?"

"Tell me about Ino Yamanaka, she's Inoichi Yamanaka's daughter right "

 _"She's Inoichi-san's daughter ? Interesting " C said in his head._

"Yes. After her father's death, she felt that it was her duty to learn and master her clan's techniques that Inoichi left over. Over time she has proven to us that she has the skills and the potential to surpass her father and become the clan's heiress. She even mastered all of her clan's jutsus and secret jutsus. And ever since, I have taken her as his apprentice, her skills have improved greatly successfully with her hard work and determination. She has proven to be a great addition to the unit and has been in high demand ever since. " Ibiki said proudly and smiled in a fatherly way of course.

"On top of that, she also worked under lady Tsunade prior, " Kakashi said.

"The first's granddaughter, Konoha's top medical shinobi right ?" The Raikage said.

"Yes, She's also an exceptional medical shinobi," Kakashi said.

 _"Oh, so on top of being the top chief , she's a medical shinobi like the blonde florist from earlier. Since both the Hokage and Ibiki-san talks so highly of her then she must be something. " C said in his mind_

"Good, I'm going to expect a lot from her " The Raikage

"Oh, you're going to be surprised Raikage-sama. Don't be fooled by her looks because, despite her beautiful appearance, she can have you crying and trembling in no less than 5 minutes.

"But can she interrogate other's minds? " Raikage said.

"That's easy peasy lemon squeezy for her, she can do it. I guarantee that. " Ibiki said.

"I'm even amazed but scared at how much she improved, " Ibiki said proudly of his apprentice.

"Well, I'm looking forward to meeting her, " The Raikage said.

The group of shinobis continues their tour around the unit a bit more till there was no more to show.

"And that concludes the—"

"Hokage –sama " Aoba said as he showed up out of nowhere.

"Yes, Aoba ?" Kakashi said.

"Ino Yamanaka is here " Aoba said.

"Alright, let her in " Kakashi said.

"Yes Hokage-sama" Aoba said as he signals Ino to come in.

Ino walks in with a smile and greets the Raikage and B.

"This is Ino Yamanaka, Raikage-sama"

"It's nice to meet you, Ino Yamanaka, I hear great things from you"

"It is my pleasure to meet you too Raikage-sama, " Ino said.

Both Darui C sees Ino his eyes widens.

 _"Ino Yamanaka was the florist from earlier?!" C said in his head._

Darui sees C's expression and chuckles at his reaction.

 _"Well this is going to be interesting " Darui said in his head._

* * *

A/N : Man, this chapter took a while for me to plan out… it's also like 1k words more than the first chapter LOL

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and thank you for wonderful comments from the previous chapter!. Also, I'm going to try my best to upload as many chapters as I can since my next semester is starting in two weeks.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I know it's already been less than 5 days since the last update but I couldn't help myself. Thank you to everyone reading this! Like I said, every view, visitors, reviews, and followers count!

* * *

"Huh, what a small world, " Darui said in his head as he sees Ino introduces herself to the Raikage.

* * *

B sees Ino for the first time and is in awe of her beauty. He nudges Naruto to tell him something.

"Yo Naruto" B said quietly to Naruto

"Yea, Octo-pops ?" Naruto said curiously.

"She's hot as in H-O-T hot! " B said.

"Psh, she's soo out of your league Octo-pops, don't even bother. Plus, you're way too old for her, you're like 2-3 times her age. " Naruto said to B.

"Why you gotta bring me down Naruto " B said.

"Just trying to be real here, " Naruto said and chuckled at the jinchurriki

* * *

" I heard a lot of great things from the lord sixth and Ibiki, Ino. I'm looking forward to seeing what you're capable of, you won't disappoint me right ?" The Raikage said to Ino.

"Rest assured Raikage –sama, I'm going to give it my all, " Ino said to the Raikage with a determined face.

"Ino " Ibiki said.

"Yes, sensei? " Ino said as she turned to Ibiki

" Show Raikage-sama how the mind-body transmission technique works and how you interrogate minds, Ino" Ibiki commanded

Ino nods and decides to demonstrate mind transmission first.

" First off, the mind-body transmission technique is a hijutsu used specifically by the Yamanaka clan to telepathically communicate with people. You probably already heard of this since it was used during the fourth great shinobi war. My father used this technique to connect Shikaku Nara with the entire allied forces. About the technique itself, the Yamanaka/user – I, act as a medium for persons to communicate with another person. Along with this, the user can connect and communicate with multiple people, however – "

"The more people that are connected through this technique, the more physical strain is put on the user, " C said as he interrupted her.

"Right… and you are? " Ino said and asked the blonde juonin.

"I'm C, one of Raikage-sama's bodyguards "

"It's nice to meet you. Anyways, this technique requires precise and careful chakra control. Now, let me demonstrate it, as it's better done than said. " Ino said as she closes her eyes and performs the hand sign.

As Ino closes her eyes and performs the hand signs, she concentrates her chakra and telepathically connects the minds of the Raikage, C, Darui, and Ibiki.

"As I explained earlier, the purpose of the technique to connect people's thoughts and communicate with them, like what I'm doing right now. " Ino said as she communicated to the Raikage, C, and Ibiki.

"This technique is a huge military asset, and it was used during the war," Ibiki said

"I already said that sensei " Ino telepathically said.

"Oh right.. I forgot " Ibiki said.

"You're getting old sensei, " Ino said.

"I'm impressed Yamanaka, " The Raikage said.

"Oh, thank you so much Raikage-sama" Ino responded.

"So, how long can this jutsu last ?" C asked

"A few seconds to a minute. However, if you misjudge your level of skill and carelessly increase the jutsu's intensity, worst case scenario is that you could die. The more useful a jutsu is, the riskier it is. As this jutsu correlates to the user's skill;, transmission speed, the scope, the number of people in the conversation, these skills can change according to the user's level. " Ino said and disconnects the connection of the jutsu.

"However, it is best to use this justu within 10-30 seconds which is why I disconnected it just now," Ino said.

"I see, " The Raikage said.

"I remember during the war, I wondered how Inoichi-san connected me to Shikaku when I was fighting against Kinkaku and Ginkaku. Ah, so this is the technique he used " Darui said

"Yup. Now, I'm going to show you how I interrogate minds. This way please " Ino said and walks to the mind interrogating room.

* * *

Ino passes by C and Darui to show the Raikage the room and opens it. As she passes by the two juonins, the smell of fresh flowers engulfs around C which causes him to avert his attention all on her.

" _She smells like fresh flowers " C said to himself._

Darui sees that C' is looking at Ino like a puppy and decides to have some fun and tease him.

"What are you looking at, C? Are you looking at Ino " Darui teased C.

"Huh, what? Oh, no one. I wasn't looking at Ino! " C told Darui.

"You sure about that? Hm " Darui said in his head.

* * *

"So who's mind am I going to interrogate? Anyone willing to volunteer? " Ino asked them.

Ino sees that no one is willing and raises her eyebrows and as she was going to speak.

"Huh, no one? it appears that everyone is a scaredy cat except the Raikage ( of course, she didn't want to interrogate his mind)" Ino said.

"Ino, you can demonstrate it to one of the criminals we have here"

"Seems fine to me, " Ino said.

Ibiki leaves for a bit and five minutes later, he comes back with a criminal they caught a few days ago with chains.

"Stay put, " Ibiki said as he secured the criminal in a boulder like a chair where it only has a hole so the head sticks out.

"He's set, Yamanaka, " Ibiki said.

"Alright, so mind interrogation is a simple but effective process. But, if it's done poorly, your mind can be trapped inside the criminal. During the time I interrogate this Peron's mind, I'm going to probe his mind and thoroughly go through his memories and thoughts. The memories and thoughts will tell me his motives and etc " Ino explained.

"So that's how it works, I see, " Darui said.

"Now, let me demonstrate it. Unfortunately, you won't be able to see how I go through his memories and thoughts since its only happening between the user and the person being interrogated.

"Then, what's the point in demonstrating it then, " C said in his head

"But, it's crucial for someone to supervise the whole process just in case unwanted situations occur that put the interrogator at risk. " Ino said.

Ino touches the Criminal's forehead and starts to interrogate his mind. During the process, Ino closes her eyes to concentrate her chakra and mind, so that she can interrogate the mind with ease.

"Ibiki, how long have she been doing this for? " The Raikage said as he observes the young kunoichi.

"It's been one and a half years. She's the best one yet, even surpassing her father. And since she also trained under Tsunade for a few years for medical ninjutsu, her chakra control is better than her father's ,so that it's a bit easier for her to grasp on her clan's hijutsus.

They see that Ino has interrogated the criminal's mind successfully. How'd the know? Just by the smile on her face and how she was able to retain soo much information in such a short span of time.

"Very good Yamanaka, I can see why the Hokage and Ibiki speak so highly of you, " The Raikage said as he praised her.

"Ah, thank you soo much Raikage-sama. You shouldn't thank me though, you should thank Ibiki-san for guiding me and - " Ino said but was interrupted when Aoba whispered something into her ear causing her to avert her attention to him instead to the Raikage

"The hospital needs you, it's urgent " Aoba whispered.

"Excuse me Raikage-sama, " Ino said apologetically to talk to Aoba for more details about the situations in the hospital.

The Raikage nod and gives Ino permission to excuse herself.

"Sorry about that Raikage-sama, Ino's been really busy these days. Everyone has been getting her to do as much as they can before she leaves for your mission "

"It's okay, it's understandable. " The Raikage said.

* * *

"What do you mean Aoba, what's going on? " Ino said seriously.

" A patient just came in the hospital with a malfunctioning lung, " Aoba said.

"Where are the surgeons? where's Sakura? " Ino asked with a stern look on her face trying to keep her cool.

"Half of the surgeons are out of the village and Sakura hasn't returned from her break. We already sent people to contact her but so far nothing " Aoba said with a sigh.

"Alright, tell them that I'm going to be there. We must hurry Aoba. The patient needs urgent care " Ino said to Aoba.

"Hai, " Aoba said.

"Argh, of all days why does it have to be today ?! " Ino internally screamed to herself.

After her conversation with Aoba, an apologetic face appears on Ino as she walks towards the Raikage.

"Sorry Raikage-sama, it appears that I'm needed at the hospital. There's a patient in need of urgent help. I have to go now, I'm so sorry Raikage-sama " Ino apologetically said.

"It's fine, you're a shinobi, go tend your duties, " The Raikage said to the blonde.

"Thank you, " Ino said as she immediately leaves the unit.

"Hm, it looks like she isn't devoted to the T&I unit as she should be, typical " C said in his head.

* * *

Shortly after, Ino arrives at the hospital. She rushed to the patient and examined him.

"Oh Ino, you're here! Thank god " one of the nurses said with a relieved face.

"Take him to the surgery room, he needs surgery asap " Ino commanded to the nurses.

"Ino prepares herself for surgery. She washes her hands and puts on gloves, mask, and etc. She enters the surgery room and begins the operation. 10 minutes into the surgery, Ino is working diligently and is halfway done. As she was about to make an incision, Sakura enters the room.

"I'm here Ino, thanks for covering for me, something happened during my break. I'll tell you the details after this. Now, go, you deserve a break " Sakura said as she takes over the operation.

Ino nods at the pinkette and debriefs her on the surgery so far. After doing so, she leaves the room and cleans up herself.

A few minutes or so, Sakura finishes the operation in ease and the patient is fine.

"We did it, the surgery was successful, " Sakura said to Ino and the two high-five.

"We're so glad you were here Ino-san, if you weren't here, the patient could've died. We're going to miss you when you leave for your mission " One of the nurses said.

"Aw, you're too sweet! Don't miss me too much, I'm just going to be on a mission for a week, I'm coming back you know, cheer up! " Ino said to the nurse and she ( the nurse) nods.

"Wanna go out for some tea? " Sakura asked Ino.

"Sure, " Ino said.

" So how was the meeting with the Raikage? " Sakura asked Ino as she sipped her tea.

" It was good till Aoba told me that the hospital needed me. I had to cut the meeting short. " Ino said.

"Yea.. sorry about that " Sakura said apologetically.

"It's fine. Oh yeah, what happened during your break " Ino asked.

" Long story short, one of the rocks from the great stone of faces fell on a business and injured a few people "

"Ouch, " Ino said.

"Yeah "

The two kunoichis chat a bit more and they were having a fun time. Sakura then brought up a topic that the two haven't talked about since they were teens.

" So, has anyone caught your eyes lately? " Sakura asked curiously.

Ever since the Fourth Great Shinobi War ended, every nation, every shinobi have been working non-stop as they were trying to rebuild the economy; trying to recruit and train as many shinobis as much as possible just in case unpredictable events occurs. Because of this, everyone, especially the juonins were bombarded with work leaving them with little days where they have the day off.

"I've been busy for the past few weeks so, no. And now that I have a mission for the Raikage to do, not anytime soon " Ino said.

"Oh cmon, you're Ino! Don't lie to me and tell me that you haven't looked at some guys and fantasized about them because everyone has, at least once" Sakura said making Ino chuckle.

"Well, now that I think about it, two guys have caught my eyes lately, " Ino said.

"Oh, who? And where did you meet them?" Sakura asked the blonde as she was curious about the two guys.

"When I met the Raikage. He had two bodyguards. I must say that both of them are pretty damn good looking. They're both blondes. One is more dark-skinned than the other and has two tattoos on both shoulders named Darui while the other one is more lighter-skinned with no tattoos named C. I must say that Darui has a more masculine aura than C but C is quite handsome and he has more of a "cool" aura. I think Darui is more chill while C is more serious " Ino said as she pictures the two juonins from earlier in her head and tried to recall as much information as possible.

" So which one are you more attracted to, if you had to choose ?" Sakura said with a smile.

"Hm, I prefer someone serious a bit more, so C? I don't know. I'm not even interested in being in a relation at the moment. I'll just let fate do its job" Ino said.

"Alright. So, when are you leaving for Kumogakure? " Sakura asked.

"Tomorrow, with Ibiki and two other juonins that the Hokage still hasn't told me. We're going there with the Raikage, B, and his bodyguards since they're also returning back and it's more convenient that way"

" Oh, I see. I hope you'll have a good time there. I'm going to miss having you around " Sakura told her best friend.

"Aw, don't worry. I'm just going to be there for a week, so don't miss me that much. Anyways, I gotta go, I have another meeting with the Raikage. See ya " Ino said and leaves.

* * *

It was a normal day for Shikamaru Nara. Being the Hokage's assistant didn't exactly grant him the free and relax life he hoped for when he was 13. As the Hokage's assistant, he was in charge providing the Hokage tasks and feedback. He didn't like the workload at first but soon got used to it. The Nara spent his usual day being cooped up in his room looking at files and get off work late. Today, in particular, was a bit different compared to his usual days. The Hokage granted him to get off work the Hokage was in a good mood or something but it certainly made Shikamaru's day. Being granted the opportunity to get off work early, he decided to do something that he hasn't done in a long time. And, that is - to cloud watch.

He walked to his usual cloud watching spot and laid on the grass. He watched the clouds freely move on the blue skies. He laid there and was also to catch up some sleep. After cloud watching and sleeping, he decided it was time to get up. It was almost time to have BBQ with his teammates, Chouji, and Ino.

Shikamaru arrives at their favorite BBQ restaurant, Yakiniku Q. He sees that Chouji is the first one there and that his teammate is already ordering.

"Yo Chouji " Shikamaru said to his best friend as he sat down.

"Ah Shikamaru, you're here! I just ordered if you don't mind " Chouji said

"It's okay, order as much as you want, " Shikamaru said

"So what's up ?" Chouji said.

"It's been fine but troublesome at the same time, " Shikamaru said.

"I'm surprised that you voluntarily become the Hokage's assistant "

"Yea me too, I'm surprised I did that too myself. It's funny how things change over time " Shikamaru said.

"It's been awhile since we had BBQ together now that we're all juonins, " Chouji said.

"And that we're all so busy. Heck, it took us forever to schedule this dinner .. oh yeah, where's Ino? it's not like her to be this late " Shikamaru said.

"Oh, I bumped into her earlier and she told me that she had a meeting with the Raikage and Ibiki, " Chouji said.

"Another one? troublesome " Shikamaru said.

"Yea, the Raikage has been keeping her busy these days, " Chouji said as he cooked some meat on the grill.

" I bet, " Shikamaru said.

"Troublesome woman, does she ever have days off? " Shikamaru said to himself.

"Oh yeah, the Hokage told me that we're going to be involved in the mission as well," Chouji said

"Ino's mission with the Raikage ?" Shikamaru said

"Yea, we're just going to be there to make sure no one gets's hurt and to make sure the mission is done well. Nothing much " Chouji said

"Troublesome, when do we leave? Shikamaru said as he grilled some pork

"Tomorrow, " Chouji said as he stuffed some pork into his mouth

"Even more troublesome," Shikamaru said and sighed at the fact that has a mission now.

Shikamaru wasn't the type to like missions that require him to go somewhere far from Konoha. It's not like he doesn't like it, it's more like he prefers to stay close to home since he's more familiar with the area and that he's Shikamaru.

Both Chouji and Shikamaru continue their dinner and chat some more to catch up.

During the BBQ, Shikamaru thinks back when team 10 wasn't so busy. He remembers the time when Asuma was still here, when Choji ate too much BBQ that he had to go to the hospital, and when Ino suddenly fed him, and when he accidentally drank Ino's drink instead of his that resulted to an indirect kiss between the two. He didn't know why he still remembers that particular memory of Ino feeding him and the drinking one.

* * *

"Oh look, we can have dinner here. What do you think, C? " Darui said as he looks at the restaurant's name: Yakiniku Q.

"Sure," C said.

The two Kumo juonins walk in the restaurant and are immediately were seated behind Shikamaru and Chouji.

"Man, it's been awhile since the last time we had BBQ, " Darui said as he looks at the menu.

"Hm," C said.

The two juonins order the BBQ set and start grilling the pork and enjoy their meal.

When Darui was enjoying the food, he sees that C is blanking out as he eats his pork.

"Still thinking about the blonde ?" Darui asked C.

"Huh, who are you talking about, " C said.

"You know who " Darui responded back.

"You mean Ino Yamanaka ?" C said.

"Yeah," Darui said

"What about her ?" C asked.

"It looks like you can't help but stare at her all day long. Are you interested in her ?" Darui asked.

"As if, like I'll ever like her and besides, she's not my type " C scoffs at his question.

"Not yet, " Darui said to himself.

"You sure about that. I feel like she's cool and that she matches your ideal type." Darui said.

"Like what, surprise me. I don't even have an ideal type " C said as he grills some pork.

"Well for starters, she's the top chief in the T&I unit so that means that she's hardworking and smart. She's a medical ninja like you, and she's a florist. She's a triple threat you gotta admit it and she's Inoichi's daughter " Darui said.

" It doesn't matter if she's a triple threat or not. Also, the things you said about her are just what she does, it doesn't necessarily tell us about her personality. Another thing is that it doesn't matter how much the Hokage and Ibiki speak so highly of her, I'll be the judge of that when I actually see her skills put to the test. " C said nonchalantly.

" Didn't she already showed her skills to the Raikage, we were there too. "

"That was just one time, that can just be purely based on luck. If she can do it many times and consistently, then I'll be impressed. For now, I'm not impressed. Also, why is the fact that she's Inoichi's daughter matter " C stubbornly said.

"Well didn't you looked up to him? I figured that it'll be cool if you and his daughter date " Darui said

"That's never going to happen " C said.

"Ugh, why is he so hard to convince? Yet again, he's C for crying out loud. C is a stubborn person " Darui said to himself

" And, it seems like she isn't devoted to T&I since she suddenly left and cut the meeting short and that was rude of her," C said

"She left because she was needed at the hospital C and she apologized two times to Raikage-sama. She's far by rude, she's considerate and kind judging the way how she was to the young girl earlier ." Darui told to C

"It doesn't matter, she's lucky that Raikage-sama let her go. And, why does she do so much? She's a medical ninja, florist, and the top chief of the T&I unit? It's unnecessary, I rather have her focus on one thing " C said.

"Wow, why is he so riled up about Ino. This is soo unlike him." Darui said to himself and sigh.

"Yeah Yeah, whatever, let's talk about something else and enjoy the meal since today's the last day we're here in Konoha before we leave, " Darui said and raises his drink to C.

" Yeah, whatever " C said as he raises his drink and cheers with Darui.

The two of them continue their meal and talk about something else. The kumo juonins chat some more and laugh as they hear about each other's funny life moments they shared together. Both C and Darui enjoy the night without knowing that a certain person was seated behind them the whole time

* * *

As Shikamaru and Chouji enjoy their meal together, two blonde juonins catches his eyes. He sees that one of them is wearing a Kumogakure headband and immediately realizes that they're C and Darui.

Shikamaru overhears their conversation about Ino and his grip on his drink tighten when he realize that C's talking about Ino.

" And, it seems like she isn't devoted to T&I since she suddenly left and cut the meeting short. That was rude of her."

Shikamaru didn't like hearing people talk smack about Ino and he certainly didn't like it when people underestimate Ino . Although he was mad hearing the conversation take place, he was somewhat glad that Darui was defending his teammate. Shikamaru was protective of Ino and that was that.

* * *

The morning after

Shikamaru woke up earlier than usual. He even woke up before his annoying alarm clock, which doesn't happen as often. He was up early not because he didn't have a good night's sleep, but because he had some things to do in his office before he leaves for his mission.

He lazily walked to his office and yawned indicating that he didn't have enough sleep and that he was tired. He sees that Yurito is also in his office and raises his eyebrows.

"Good morning senpai " Yurito cheerfully said.

"Morning, why are you here so early ?"

" I figured that you'd be here since you're leaving for a mission in an hour and that I wanted to help you arrange some files for you before you go, " Yurito said.

" Oh thanks, Yurito. You shouldn't have, " Shikamaru said

"It's alright, and also senpai, " Yurito said

"Yeah?" Shikamaru said

"Before you leave, I wanted to ask you something, " Yurito said

"What is it ?" Shikamaru said he looks at some files

"I was wondering why you didn't answer my question a few days ago, " Yurito said

"Hmm, " Shikamaru said as he thinks back his question and smirks.

"But Ino-san is extremely pretty, don't you think so? Well, as her teammate "

"Well if she wasn't pretty, then she would be able to have the criminal whipped by her tail so easily am I right ?"

"So… that's a yes ?" Yurito said.

"Yea yeah, Whatever you think. Answering these types of questions so early in the morning is troublesome. Anyways, See ya " Shikamaru said as he leaves the room with his hands against the back of his head.

Everyone in the village cannot deny Ino's beauty. In fact, it'd be an understatement to say that she's pretty. If one were to ask all of the male shinobis on whether they find Ino is attractive 101% of the time, they'll say yes. If someone were to say no, it was assumed that the person is lying. There were times that her beauty was unrivaled.

Having a teammate that's well known as one of "Konoha's flowers" was interesting and annoying at the same time, well in Shikamaru's perspective. Seeing males constantly trying to hit/flirt on her during on missions or not was always a hassle because they were constantly interfering with their mission process, making it even more troublesome than it was before. Also, seeing Ino getting hit on somehow makes his blood boil and that he wants to strangle them with his shadow neck binding technique.

Although Shikamaru wouldn't admit it openly, but if he was forced to , then he will admittedly say yes. Say yes that Ino is an attractive close friend and teammate of his .

* * *

An hour later

At Konoha's entrance gates.

"Darui and I are ready to depart Raikage-sama, " C said

"What about you, B ?" The Raikage asked.

"I was so ready so ready like a bakayarō! Konoyarō! " B rapped.

"And, what about you, Ibiki ? is everyone here? " The Raikage asked.

"We're waiting for two more people, they're juonins assigned by the Hokage himself. They should be here by now " Ibiki said.

"Alright "

5 minutes later, Ino sees two familiar figures walking towards her and realizes that it's Chouji and Shikamaru.

"HEY INO, " Chouji said as he finishes eating his packs of chips

"Chouji? Shikamaru ? What are you guys doing here? " Ino asked Chouji and Shikamaru.

"Right on time Shikamaru and Chouji. I'm glad you guys can make it " Ibiki said with a smile.

"Wait, you guys are the two extra juonins that the Hokage assigned ?! "Ino said excitedly.

"Yup," Chouji said.

"Oh my gosh, yay! I can't believe it " Ino said excitedly and hugs both her teammates at the same time.

"It's like a reunion, well sort of, " Shikamaru said as both he and Chouji hug Ino back.

"What is her relationship with Shikamaru? " C asked to himself when he sees the trio hug and smile. C started to feel something weird in his stomach and that it suddenly irritated him seeing witnessing the scene when he sees Ino and Shikamaru hug and he didn't know why.

The trio then broke apart their embrace to greet the Raikage.

"Good morning Raikage-sama " Shikamaru and Chouji both said to the Raikage.

"Good morning, " The Raikage said.

"I'm Akimchi Chouji, It's a pleasure to meet you Raikage -sama, " Chouji said to the Raikage and they shook hands.

"Oh, so Shikamaru "

"Yes Raikage-sama "

"So are Ino Yamanaka and Chouji Akimichi the teammates you mentioned a few days ago ?"

"Yes, Raikage-sama, " Shikamaru said.

"And together we form Team 10! " Ino said happily since she gets to work with her former teammates.

"They're teammates? " C said to himself

"Huh, it makes sense Ino-Shika-Cho" Darui said to himself.

* * *

A/N : okay, this chapter is incredibly long. I didnt expect it to be this long OTL . But it's okay ! the more the better right ?

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and till next time ~


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

A/N: So I just realized and found out that I've been spelling jonins wrong … lmao. Here is another update and thank you to everyone for the lovely reviews, and for reading my fanfic! You guys are awesome.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and the characters.

* * *

"They're teammates ?! "

"Huh, it makes sense, "Ino-Shika-Cho ""

"Hey, Ino, you never mentioned that you and Shikamaru are teammates, " Darui said to Ino.

"Oh, haha, well you didn't ask right ?" Ino pointed out and giggled.

"True, " Darui said to the blonde.

"Now that everyone is here, it's time to depart " The Raikage commanded.

"Yes, Raikage-sama" Everyone but the Raikage said.

* * *

The group of shinobis starts their journey to Kumogakure. They first started out jumping along the trees and slowly transitioned to walking for no apparent reason. Since everyone was not too familiar with each other besides team 10, the atmosphere was a bit awkward. No one has said anything for the first few minutes all you could hear were everyone's footsteps. It was quite for a bit till Darui speak up.

"So Ino, for how long did you knew Shikamaru and Chouji? " Darui asked curiously which causes C to look at the trio to know too.

"Oh, we knew each other way before we were teammates. We met each other ever since we were in our diapers since our parents are close friends " Ino said.

"Yup, we're pretty much a big family, " Chouji said to the Kumo jonin.

"Oh I see, that makes sense then. So it just so happens that you guys were grouped together to form a team with a jonin right " Darui said.

"Yup, we're the 16th generation Ino-Shika-Cho. Shikamaru here has an IQ of over 200 but is the laziest person I know " Ino said as she teases Shikamaru by pinching his face which irritates Shikamaru.

"Agh, troublesome woman will she ever stop ?! " Shikamaru says to himself in pain.

"And Chouji is the strongest and kindest person I know, " Ino said as she pats Chouji's shoulder.

" I can see that you guys are close and comfortable with each other "

"Yup "

"Eh not really, it's just that I'm always with them no matter what "

"Yah Shikamaru ! " Ino said disagreeing to what Shikamaru said

"But they're friends that I can put my trust on, " Shikamaru said as he stares at Chouji and then to Ino. He stares at Ino a bit longer than Chouji in which C notices.

"Aww, " Ino said as she clings on Shikamaru's arm as a way to thank him for his kind words.

"Friends huh, but judging by the way Shikamaru looks at her, it certainly looks like he treats Ino as a special friend … maybe more than a friend? " C said to himself as he analyzed the two.

"Every team has a jonin leader so, who's your jonin sensei? " C asked.

"Oh, well you see…he um- " Ino said as she looked down but Shikamaru interrupted her when he sees that Ino is having a hard time telling them about their former sensei.

"He died during battle when he was fighting against the Akatsuki a few years ago, " Shikamaru said solemnly.

"Oh, sorry for your guys' loss, " Darui said.

"It's okay, he lived a great life. He died as a great shinobi and sensei that we all knew " Chouji said

"it's a sensitive topic for Ino as you can see, " Chouji said as he munches on his bags of chips that he seems to never get sick of.

"Oh, sorry about that, are you alright ?" Darui said

"Oh, No! you shouldn't apologize! And I'm fine! I have these two goofballs beside my side to help me " Ino said when she hooked her two arms around Chouji's right arm and Shikamaru's left arm.

"Troublesome woman… but I'm always impressed how she's able to pull herself back up so quickly. " Shikamaru said to himself.

"That's good, " Darui said to the trio.

* * *

The group of them walk and talk some more enjoying each other's company. The trio gradually stopped walking side by side but it was okay since everyone's walking pace was a bit different. Ibiki was walking with the Raikage, C was with B, Darui was with Ino, and Shikamaru was with Chouji – as usual.

Making use of this time to get to know Ino a bit more and to tease C, Darui asked Ino an interesting question that will surely draw C's attention

"So, what's up with you and Shikamaru, " Darui asked Ino and raises one of his eyebrows.

"Huh? What are you talking about " Ino responded back

"Your relationship with Shikamaru?" Darui said back.

" What? Me and Shikamaru? We're just close friends. We have a strong bond with each other since we know each other since we were born." Ino said.

"Ah I see, so just close friends " Darui clarified.

"Yea…. " Ino said as she looks at Darui amusingly.

Shikamaru couldn't help himself but eavesdrop their conversation. He was curious as to why Darui asked Ino such a question and when he did, he somehow felt tense and regretted it when he heard that Ino considers him as a "close friend ".

 _"Just close friends? Yeah, that sounds right but why do I feel tense about it? Agh, I don't know this is soo troublesome " Shikamaru said to himself._

 _"So there's nothing going around between Ino and Shikamaru? but that's just according to Ino, I wonder if Shikamaru feels the same way hmm " C said as he analyzes their conversation._

* * *

While everyone was walking, both C and Ino notices and senses someone's chakra around the area.

"Hey, Ibiki-"

"Raikage-sama "

Both Ino and C said at the same time.

"Yeah, what's wrong Ino? " Ibiki asked his apprentice.

"According to my senses, it seems like there are people around the area. But I couldn't help but also sense that they're chakra is abnormal "

"Impressive Yamanaka, I had the same feeling too, " The Raikage said.

"Well if that's the case, we should be cautious everywhere. Remember to stand firm and be prepared at any time " The Raikage said.

"Hai " Everyone said

 _"She's a sensor too? " C said to himself as he looked at the kunoichi_

"Impressive, she's a sensor too, " Darui said as he looked at the kunoichi.

"Huh, I didn't know Ino is also a sensor Ibiki, " The Raikage said to Ibiki.

"Yeah, she has quite a few tricks up her sleeves. Being a sensor is one of Ino's special attributes " Ibiki said.

"Hm, " The Raikage said.

The group of them continue their walk to Kumogakure and all of a sudden, multiple shurikens were thrown on both sides. With everyone's quick reaction and reflexes, everyone dodged the attack. Suddenly, two shinobis appeared. Shikamaru notices that both their headbands were scratched signaling that they're rogue ninjas.

"Everyone should stay alert and be careful, we must protect the Raikage, " Ibiki said as he was high alert and warned the group of jonins.

The two rogue shinobis quickly throw a smoke bomb downwards so that they can disrupt their eye sights. The two rogue shinobis then move into the smoke bomb and start attacking them. One of them tries to attack the Raikage and C see this. C was quick enough to use his kunai to block his attack. However, the rogue shinobi was soo fast that he was able to wound C, he used his kunai to scratch C's shoulder.

"They're fast, " C said as he looks at his bleeding shoulder.

Ino, on the other hand, was on high alert and sensed that one of the enemies were coming at her. She opens her pocket and takes out a kunai to protect herself. One of the rogue shinobis appeared by her side and throws a shuriken that hits Ino's arms. No time to cry about the pain, Ino uses her kunai and fights back. She couldn't use any of her technique since all she could see was smoke, it was too dangerous.

Meanwhile

Being the skilled tactician he is, Shikamaru finds out the enemies' s strategy and yells out to Chouji to bring out his butterfly wings. Chouji hears this and pours all of the chips into his mouth and digest providing him the energy and strength to expand himself and uses his butterly wings to flap at the smoke and clear the area off.

As the smoke disappears, Ino ,Shikamaru, and Chouji signal each other and perform one of their famous battle formations. Ino uses the Mind Disturbance Technique which causes her to gain complete control of the target's body by disconnecting the victim's will and body. This technique causes one of the rogue shinobis to attack their partner. Shikamaru then uses his shadow imitation technique to grab a hold of them in one spot. Lastly, Chouji expands his hands and trap their bodies so they can't move. However, the rogue shinobis were able to gain control of their bodies and started to use their kunai and stab Chouji's hands causing Chouji to wince in pain.

Ino sees this and performs the mind-paralyzing technique ( I actually made that up lmao ). She performs the hand signs and technique and was able to successfully paralyze their minds.

Thanks to Ino's technique, the rogue shinobis' mind gets paralyzed and cannot move their body.

"There, that should do it. They should be paralyzed for a few days. " Ino said.

"Good work Ino, it was a smart move to perform that technique," Ibiki said.

"The mind-paralyzing technique? I haven't heard of such a technique " The Raikage said.

"Oh, it's a new technique that Ino created and she's the only one that can perform it, " Ibiki said.

"Impressive ' The Raikage said.

* * *

After that mishap, both Shikamaru and Chouji undo their techniques. The two of them are tired from the small battle since they used quite a bit of their chakras. Since everyone was tired from the unexpected attack, they decided to rest for a bit to replenish.

"Thanks for helping us protect Raikage-sama, " Darui said to the trio

"Oh, you shouldn't thank us. It's our job to do so as shinobis " Ino said and sees the state of Choujis hands. She then walks towards her teammate.

"C, go heal Chouji's hands " The Raikage ordered.

"Hai Raikage-sama, " C said as he walks toward the Akimichi.

As C was about to heal Chouji, he sees two feminine hands coming in and performing the mystic palm technique on Chouji.

"Looks like you were too late buddy " Darui teased C.

"Whatever it's not like it's a serious injury. It can be fixed with the mystic pal technique that even all new medic-nins can perform. It's as basic and simple as that " C said arrogantly which irritates Ino and causes her to talk back.

" At least I'm willing and kind enough to heal people without being ordered to " Ino talked back to him when she was done healing Chouji

"You know she's right C, " Darui said to C.

"Whatever I- " C said but winces at his deeply scratched shoulder from the rogue shinobi.

Ino notices C's expression and sees his wound and walks towards him.

"You know for someone as smart as you, you sure are arrogant and oblivious to your surroundings and the people around you. Heck, you knew you had an injury but didn't even bother to heal yourself. Now listen to me and sit down " Ino said as she pats his other shoulder gently to tell him to sit down.

" I knew about it and I was goi-" C argued back but stopped when he sees that Ino performing the mystic palm technique to him.

Ino heals his wound for him which causes C to be flustered at her action and mutters a thank you to her.

"As a medic-nin, it's my job to save, treat, and heal people. So, no need to thank me but I appreciate your gratitude " Ino said and smiles at C and causes him to feel warm and fuzzy and make his heart beat faster.

Ino gets up after healing C's wound and offers him a hand. C takes her hand and Ino helps him get up. C then suddenly feels sparks when their hands touch. He looks at Ino's face to see if she may possibly display the same reaction as him. He sees that Ino didn't display any reactions at all, her expression didn't change at all ( or so he thinks . But, at the same time, there was also a possibility that Ino did, in fact, feel something but didn't display a reaction ). Unbeknownst to him, Ino did feel sparks when they shared skinship . She also took a quick glance at the male before he glances back. The moment was soon interrupted when Ino heard her sensei calling her.

"Ino, come here " Ibiki called out and waves to her.

" Yes, Ibiki sensei? " Ino said.

"Do you still remember what I told you before we left Konoha?" Ibiki asked Ino which causes her to startle and think back.

"Yes, I still remember " Ino said after thinking back a few hours earlier from now.

"Good," Ibiki said.

* * *

 _Before the departure:_

 _1 hour before the departure, Ino and Ibiki were at the T &I unit arranging some things._

 _"Ino, I need to tell you something very important regarding this mission " Ibiki said unexpectedly._

 _"What is it sensei ?" Ino asked back curiously._

 _"Ino, no matter what, you must try your best to not fall for anyone during the mission, especially to any Kumo shinobis. I know this sounds ridiculous but this it to avoid any political conflicts between the cloud village and the leaf village. Do you understand Ino? " Ibiki said as he held on her shoulders._

 _" I understand Sensei, " Ino said and nods at Ibiki._

 _"Good," Ibiki said._

* * *

A few minutes later, the group of shinobis resumes their walk to Kumogakure.

"You know despite what happened today, the weather sure is nice. It's sunny and windy " Chouji said.

"Yea, it really is, " Ino said as she looks up to see the clouds.

The group of them stop walk and admire the weather for a bit. The wind then comes in blows some leaves and etc. The wind blows Ino's bangs to the side which reveals her face that catches C, Darui, and Shikamaru's attention. This was the first time C and Darui get to see Ino's full face and boy were they mesmerized.

" _So that's what she looks like, she's beautifully stunning…. Oh my, what am I thinking? " C said to himself_

 _"She's pretty and by the looks of it, C thinks so too," Darui said as he glances at C and snickers._

 _"But Ino-san is extremley pretty, don't you think so? Well, as her teammate "_

 _'Yes Yurito, I do think so. She's an extremely pretty but troublesome teammate " Shikamaru said to himself as he thinks back to Yurito's question._

* * *

A few more hours of walking, the group decided to take another break. Everyone was resting and replenishing themselves by eating some snacks they packed and drinking some water. While C and Darui were trying to talk B out from holding a festival back at the village to present his rap to everyone, C couldn't help but take a quick glance at Ino and noticed that there was a cut on her arm.

"It must've been from the fight earlier. It looks like it's partially healed. " C said to himself and walks towards her.

"You know for someone who was lecturing me about not doing my job properly, I can say the same thing to you too. Why is your wound partially healed? "

"Oh, this? Well, I didn't have much chakra earlier because of the fight, so I only healed part of it so I can preserve and save my remaining chakra just in case if something unexpected happens later on and it's nothing serious." Ino said to C.

" I barely used my chakra so I can heal you, let me do it, " C said as he heals her wound fully.

"Oh, thanks. I appreciate it your help " Ino said and slightly blushes at his actions.

 _"He's actually not as bad as I thought, " Ino said to herself_

Both Ibiki and the Raikage was having a conversation about the mission, the two males were soon distracted by the scene that was happening between the Konoha shinobi and Kumo shinobi

"Interesting, " The Raikage said to himself when he sees C healing Ino. It was quite a rare sight to C be so willing to heal someone.

 _"Ino, remember what I said," Ibiki said to himself and watches the two._

* * *

After hours later, it was already midnight and that they finally arrive at Kumogakure. Ibiki, Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji were escorted to their rooms that they're going to be staying in. Everyone had their own room that came with their own bathroom on the same floor. They were staying in the same building as the Raikage, and his bodyguards, C and Darui. Since it was already midnight, everyone decided to go to sleep right away but Shikamaru didn't since he had to write a scroll back to Konoha telling the Hokage that they arrived safely in Kumogakure.

Ino couldn't sleep for some odd reason and decided to walk around the floor's balcony. Shikamaru, just returning from sending his message, sees Ino out at the balcony not sleeping like the rest.

" I thought you went to sleep, " Shikamaru said as he walked towards her.

"Oh, hey Shikamaru. I couldn't sleep which explains why I'm here " Ino said as she looked at the stars.

"Is something wrong? ' Shikamaru asked Ino. It wasn't usual for Ino to stay up and watch the stars. He figured that she must have something on her mind for such behavior.

"Nothing, just thinking about Asuma –sensei and father, " Ino said as she looked at the skylines.

"Oh I see, " Shikamaru said as he looks at the star too.

" I was just thinking what it'll be like if they were still alive. What Asuma-sensei will say to us after being promoted to jonins. What my father will say to me after being promoted to the top chief of the T&I unit. How proud they'll both be for us now that we're high/top ranking jonins. What my father's reaction will be like when he finds out I mastered all of the clan's secret technique and how happy mother will my father thinks about me doing this mission for the Raikage. I just wonder how much our lives will differ if they were still here with us. I miss both Asuma sensei's and father's guidance. I miss them both soo much that it hurts sometimes " Ino said as tears formed in her eyes and cascaded her smooth and pale cheek.

Although it was dark out, Ino's blue eyes were glistening against the moon light. Ino wasn't the type to let her guard down easily, it was a rare sight for her to tear up.

"Same, I also think so too. But remember we gotta strive forward and do our best. They lost their lives for us, for the next generation and I bet Inoichi would be sad if he saw you like this right?

"You're right. Thanks for the encouragement Shikamaru. " Ino said as she was happy to have Shikamaru by her side so he can pick her up when she's feeling down.

"We just gotta do our best and not let our fathers down. And plus, I bet my father would've been surprised as hell to know that I'm the Hokage's assistant now. He wouldn't believe it "Shikamaru said and Ino chuckled at his comment about his father.

"Shikamaru, " Ino said

"Hm ?" Shikamaru said

"Can I have a hug, I really need one right now " Ino pleaded and asked.

"Of course you can. If it makes you feel better, you can hug much as much as you want when you're feeling down anywhere and anytime" Shikamaru said as he wraps his arms around her petite frame.

"Anywhere and anytime you say? So I can hug you when you're in a meeting ? So I can hug when you're trying to shower ? " Ino teased at his choice of words.

"What , hell no. You know what I mean, " Shikamaru said back.

"Thanks, you're the best Shika, " Ino said as she wraps her arms around him and cuddles her face against his clothed chest.

The two teammate embrace each other for a few minutes in silence and breaks apart. Shikamaru was reluctant to break apart the embrace. He was enjoying having Ino in his arms and that all he could smell were fresh flowers from her. His heart beat was beating faster than usual. He liked the feeling of Ino's arm around him and he wanted it to last forever.

"There's also something bothering me, " Ino said

"What is it ?" Shikamaru asked.

"I don't want to be known for my looks, " Ino said.

"What are you talking about ?" Shikamaru said

"I don't want to be known for my looks Shika, I want to be known for my skills and personality," Ino said.

"Ohh I get it, "Shikamaru said after figuring out what she way trying to say.

"Yeah. I get that a lot of people judge others by their looks. It just irks me to the bone when people do that. Their looks don't justify who they are, they just justify what they look like. And yes, I do know that I'm one of "Konoha's flower " and I know that every woman wants to be in my shoes but guess what, I don't. Do you want to know why? it's because physical attraction does not make friendship or any relationship last but personality does. And you know how I always reject every male that tries to hit/flirt on me every mission we have? it's because liking someone just by their physical appearance means that you're neglecting what's most important, their personality. Looks can fade but personality can't. Our personalities are what help distinguishes individuals from other individuals. Heck, I would rather be ugly but be recognized for my skills and personality. Sorry about going all out on this Shika, I just needed to let this all out and I figured that you were the right person to do so " Ino said apologetically to Shikamaru.

"It's alright Ino and I completely agree with what you said. Don't worry much about, you have Sakura, Naruto, and etc. You have Chouji and I. We like you not because of your looks but for your personality and guess what, I'm pretty sure the Raikage like you too " Shikamaru said and that the last part made Ino smile and laugh.

"Aw thanks, Shika, "Ino said.

'But you sure are troublesome " Shikamaru teased Ino

"Shut up, " Ino said but enjoyed his teasing.

* * *

Unknown to Shikamaru and Ino, C was listening to their whole conversation from the start.

It was 2 am and it was dark out. After a long day journey of walking from Konoha back to Kumogakure sure did tire C out. Luckily, he went fast asleep but a few hours later, he woke up for some odd reason. He figured that I was one of those nights where he will watch the stars and hopefully fall back asleep. He walked out of his room and saw the backs two figures looking at the stars. He walked closer to them and to his surprise, it was Ino and Shikamaru. He was about to go to the other side of the building; since there was another balcony, but stopped when he heard Ino talk about her father and that by the tone of her voice, it seemed like she was tearing up. C knew it was wrong to eaves drop on someone's conversation but there was something about Ino that enticed him that made him do so and that maybe he can learn a thing or two about the blonde. He wanted to know what caused Ino to tear up.

After listening to the whole conversation, C learned many things about Ino. And most importantly, how his personal opinion on Ino changed. Everything he thought she'll be - she wasn't and instead she was the total opposite. He was compelled and impressed. He was impressed by her argument about how personality matter more than looks. Heck, he was even nodding when he was listening to that portion of the conversation.

C, in other words, was fascinated by the Yamanaka and that he felt sympathetic to her.

* * *

For the longest time, C never had a free willed life or a long break. Growing up, he had a goal to be the best shinobi as he could. He fooled around during his childhood but studied diligently at the academy. His parents are civilians and did not belong to a distinct clan. He graduated the academy at the top along with a few others. Shortly after, he became a chunin and then a jonin. His skills were soon recognized by the Raikage and he was later promoted as one of his bodyguards. He was quite known in the village as an exceptional shinobi with excellent chakra control as he was a medic-nin, genjutsu user, and sensor type.

He had a few friends and his best friend is Darui, the other bodyguard of the Raikage. He and Darui have been the Raikage's bodyguard for 5 years already. Prior to becoming bodyguards, he and Darui were already friends and that they're friendship has strengthened as they are now working together. Besides his mother, Darui was the only one that knows the most about C and his life. Darui has seen multiple sides of him. He has seen him happy, goofy ( which is quite rare ), in love ( which is quite amusing to see ), sad, angry, and etc.

C's personality is rather serious, condescending, and mature individual normally seen with a confident and self-assured look on his face. And because of serious nature, he often puts duty above all else. A few years he had a slight dislike for Konoha ninjas before the war; calling naruto's group " Konoha dogs". He no longer dislikes them and refers to them to such name since Naruto was a big part of the war's success and is grateful that someone like him ( Naruto ) exists. He now fully respects Konoha ninjas.

As for his love life, it's almost non-existent. Of course, like everyone else, C has fallen in love before but is it common? The answer to that is no. Unlike others who believe in love at first sight, C believes in attraction or infatuation at first sight. C is rather particular about who he falls in love with. His first girlfriend was also the last girlfriend he had. He dated his first girlfriend for 2-3 years and broke up 5 years ago, just right before he started working with the Raikage. Why the breakup? Well, let's just say that while C loved his girlfriend as much as possible, his girlfriend fell out of love and cheated on him. Although the two mutually ended their relationship in good terms, C could not forget how heart breaking it was for him to let go someone he loved for years and witness her cheating him with one of his classmates .

* * *

 _Flashback :_

 _At the tender age of 19, C was in a relationship with a wonderful girl ( according to him) . He just got out of a mission and wanted to take his girlfriend to a festival. The mission took longer than he expected and managed to return to the village just an hour before the festival closes._

 _"C, I need to tell you something " C's girlfriend said._

 _"What is it? you can tell me later, the festival is going to end in an hour babe" C said._

 _"No, it's important. I need to tell you this now"_

 _"Okay, tell me. What is it?" C said. He was scared what she was going to tell him considering how serious his girlfriend was._

 _"I'm breaking up with you, "C's girlfriend said._

 _"What? why ? what did I do wrong? tell me and I can fix it. You know I love you right? " C frantically said._

 _"There's nothing wrong with you but I can't be in a relationship that's one-sided, " C's girlfriend said._

 _"What do you mean ? C panically asked._

 _"I fell out of love with you and I cheated, " C's girlfriend said._

 _Her words struck C and he started to feel his heart breaking into pieces._

 _"I regret it but if I continue this relationship with you, I'm going to hate myself. It's unfair to you and it's against my moral to be with someone that I cheated on. I'm so sorry C, but I can't continue this relationship. I hope you can forgive me" C's girlfriend said._

 _"I need some time. Give me a few days "C said trying to stay composed and calm_

 _"Alright, " C's girlfriend said._

 _Days later the couple mutually ends their relationship with a hurt and broken-hearted C._

* * *

A few years later, he eventually moved on and swore himself that he's going to give up on love so that he won't suffer as much and go through the emotional pain he went through years ago.

Now at the age of 26, he finds himself in a similar situation as he was a few years ago and that is all because of a particular blonde haired kunoichi that has been catching his eyes lately.

* * *

The morning after

After having breakfast, everyone was in their respective rooms. C was ordered to relay a message to Ino from the Raikage. When he was ordered to do the task, he started to become nervous. A personality trait that he would almost never display. C was having a difficult time trying to come up with ways to talk to her. His palms started to get sweaty and he was over analyzing the task. He thought of getting Darui do the task for him but decided that a fool would do that and he was no fool. He needed to somehow come up with a plan to not embarrass himself in front of Ino.

And there he was, C was standing right in front of the door to Ino's room. He scratched the back of his neck nervously debating what to say to Ino. As he was about to knock on the door, he hesitated and back tracked in the last second. He was usually a calm and confident person but god knows why he was as nervous as a mouse at this very moment. C was not being his normal self. He was being the person he was 5 years ago when he first asked out his very first girlfriend. He didn't know why Ino had this effect on him and it was pissing him off. Being frustrated at himself, he decides to just go to his room and let some of his anger out. As he about to leave, the door opens and he sees Ino.

"Hey C, what's up? " Ino asked the jonin.

"Hey… uh… Raikage-sama wanted to let you know… uh… that…uh… " C said and realizes that he forgot what he was supposed to relay to Ino from the Raikage.

"Uh, are you okay C? Do you want a cup of water? " Ino asked to help C

"No.. no it's okay but thanks for the offer. Sorry about that, I don't know what's going on with myself, I didn't get a good sleep last night which might explain why

"Oh, no worries! So what did you need to tell me

"Oh, um well he wanted to tell you to be prepared at 5 since you're going to be interrogating the criminal "

"Cool, thanks for letting me know. Anyways, I gotta go, I'm meeting up with Shikamaru and Chouji. See you later " Ino said as she waves her goodbye.

"See you later," C said back to her.

After saying goodbye to Ino, C decided to go visit his mother. When he exits the building, he bumps into Darui and overhears a few jonins talking about Ino.

"Did you know that one of "Konoha's flowers" is in town ?"

"What really? Who ? is it Ino Yamanaka? I heard she's really beautiful"

"Yea and damn right she is, she's also hot as fuck "

"Heck, even babies are in awe of her. Every time she carries a baby, they stop crying. She's like a goddess "

"Wow damn, and I also heard that she's a medic-nin too. That just makes her 10x more attractive "

"Man, I wonder who's going to be the lucky guy to win her heart. He's going to be blessed with such a beautiful girlfriend "

"I bet you can't stand a chance

"What? Says who? I'm going to try because who knows I might be the lucky guy "

" I bet you 5000 ryo that she's going to reject you "

"The bet is so on! "

After passing by the jonins, C's mood was ruined. He was in a bad mood. He didn't like how the jonins were talking about her as if she was an object.

"Oh look, it looks like Yamanaka is already popular with the jonins, and it's been only less than a day since she's been here " Darui pointed out.

"That's Ino for you, " Ibiki said as he walks by them.

For god's sake, Ino deserves someone better than those jonins.. But why am I constantly thinking about her ?!

 _Ino Yamanaka, what are you doing to me and my life._

* * *

A/N: Okay, initially, I was going to split this chapter into two but In the end, I didn't and there's no reason why :') My chapter just gets longer and longer but I guess that's not necessarily a bad thing right ? I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter because I sure did! Also, I already decided on the main pairing but I won't be telling you since it's going to be a secret and that you guys will find out later on.

Till next time ~


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: For some odd reason, I had a hard time writing this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and the characters.

* * *

"Wow, Ino's name really does spread fast in such a short span of time, all the male shinobis are talking about her, " Darui said as observed the group of male jonins that's talking about the kunoichi.

"Hm, like I care," C said in response to his statement and walked down the staircase and a few jonins walks by them.

 _"Oh, I know you clearly do. You might not show it but you really do " Darui said to himself._

"I heard that she's going to be in the village for at least a week so we better make a move on her soon "

"Yea, but I don't know when she's going to make an appearance. I heard she's going to be incognito for the whole time she's here "

"Oh, I heard that she's going out for lunch in an hour "

"Wait for what ? How'd you know?

"I have my connections"

 _"I hope she rejects those assholes," C said to himself_

"So where are you off to C? Darui asked C as they were walking.

"I'm going to go visit my mother, you ?" C said.

"I don't know. I think I'm going to take a stroll around the neighborhood or something " Darui said as he looks around.

"Alright, see you later. Remember that we're supposed to meet at the T&I building in a few hours " C said as he walks to his Mother's place.

"Yeah yeah " Darui said

* * *

C peacefully walks to his parent's place and sees that his mother is watering the plants. Planning to have some with her, he goes up behind her quietly and leans into her face and...

"Hey mom –" C said which causes his mother to have a mini heart attack.

"Oh my gosh C ! you're just like your father, " C's mother said as she places her hand on her chest to calm down.

C chuckles at his mother's reaction and sees that the flowers are well taken care of.

"I know, so how's it going? " C asked his mother.

"I'm doing fine, I was just watering the garden. So, what do you think?" C's mother asked C as she wanted to know her son's opinion on her garden.

C looks around the garden inspecting it carefully. He sees the bed of multiple fully bloomed flowers with their vibrant colors. He then look to the left corner of the garden and sees a small bunch of not so vibrant and dead-looking flowers.

"It looks good but what happened to that small bunch at the left corner? It looks like they're dead or something. The flowers look ill " C said.

"I know, I've been trying my best to revive those bunch but nothing has been working. I don't know what wrong with them. I'm planning to take it to the florist and ask for help" C's mother said.

"Let me do it, I can take it to the flower shop, mother " C said willingly to help his mother.

"Oh you shouldn't dear, you just got back. You should rest dear " C's mother said.

"I'll take care of it mother, it's the best I could do since I've been gone for a week, " C said not willing to budge.

"Fine, come pick it up tomorrow morning then. I'll be waiting for you " C's mother said

"Sure," C said.

"Oh yeah, how was your trip to Konoha? " C's mother asked.

"It was alright, I met a lot of people and the food there was great but not as great as the food back here," C said.

"Hm, so you met a lot of people. Am I going to meet one those people? " C's mother asked with a mischievous smile so that her son can take a hint on what she actually meant.

"What no, mother. I was there for work purposes only so no " C said.

"Ah, whatever you say, " C's mother said not buying her son's excuse.

* * *

Shikamaru and Chouji were walking around the village to get some lunch before they go to the interrogating room that's in a few hours. The two of them were exploring the village and they see a familiar Kumo jonin, to their surprise it was Darui.

"Oh, hey Chouji and Shikamaru. What are you guys up to? " Darui asked the duo.

"Nothing, just walking around the village," Shikamaru said.

"And, we're also trying to look for a place to have lunch. Do you have any recommendations? " Chouji asked as he munched on some chips.

Darui thinks for a moment while he scratches the back of his head.

" There's a sushi restaurant nearby called Kozu, they have pretty good sushi"

"Sounds good, you up for it Shikamaru? " Chouji asked his best friend.

"Sure, do you want to come along too Darui? " Shikamaru offered to Darui.

"Why not, I've also been looking for a place to eat too " Darui accepted the offer.

"Let's go," Chouji said

"Heh, he sure likes to eat chips a lot. I always see him with a bag of chips" Darui

"That's Chouji for you, he sure loves his chips and food, "Shikamaru said

"Yeah, I can't tell, " Darui said and chuckled.

While Chouji, Shikamaru, and Darui walked to the restaurant, they chatted for a bit. At the same time, Darui showed them around since it was basically their first time visiting Kumogakure. Shortly after, they arrive at the restaurant and were seated. After reading the menu, they were ready to order. The waitress came to take their order and Chouji ordered first.

"I'd like to have everything on this page miss" Chouji ordered which surprised Darui.

"Damn, if he ordered that much then Shikamaru and I don't have to order right? There's no way he can finish all that by himself " Darui said to himself and made eye contact with Shikamaru. Shikamaru sees Darui trying to make eye contact with him and smirks.

"And that's all for now miss , thank you, " Shikamaru said to the waitress kindly and she walked away.

" Wow Chouji, I didn't know you have quite an appetite," Darui said.

"Ah, thank you. Ah! Sorry that I ordered the whole menu, I hope you don't mind. I was thinking that since I ordered quite a lot of food, I can share it with you and Shikamaru "

"Of course not, eat all you want. Are we good friends right? " Darui said and Chouji nod happily.

The ordered food soon arrived and their table was full of food. During the meal, Darui was amazed at Chouji.

"Wow Chouj, you must be really hungry. Are you enjoying the food? " Darui asked the Akimichi.

"I am and the food is amazing, " Chouji said as he stuffed some food in his mouth happily which causes both Shikamaru and Darui to laugh a bit by his actions.

The trio continued their meal and chatted some more. The restaurant was quite noisy, loud, and busy. The trio was chatting happily till they hear a group of people seated behind them talk about a certain blonde.

"I heard that was one Konoha's flowers is in town"

"I heard that too, is it, Ino Yamanaka? "

"Hell yeah man ! the one and only"

"Man, she's a total babe. She's like a goddess sent from heaven"

"I know right but I heard she's hard to impress. Just an hour ago, I heard she rejected a bunch of guys "

"That's Ino for you, " Shikamaru said to himself and smirked as he heard that.

"But remember what they say, the harder to impress, the better "

"True"

The trio listens to the group's conversation and they stay silent for a bit while Shikamaru's grip on his drink tightens. He didn't like it when hears male talk about Ino in a certain way.

"It looks like Ino is quite popular with the guys, " Darui said.

"Aha yeah, she always had that effect since we were teens, " Chouji said as he stuffed multiple slices of sashimi into his mouth.

"Really? How popular is she" Darui asked curiously.

"Well she's a Yamanaka so she's born with the good genetics and the males are more toned down back in Konoha compared to here since they're used to it, " Shikamaru said.

"But doesn't it get annoying when you constantly hear guys talk about her since she's your teammate "

"Eh, we're already used to it. As long as they don't talk trash about them then it's good" Chouji said.

"And plus, knowing her, she's a hard one to impress," Shikamaru said.

"She's lucky to have you guys as her teammates," Darui said to them which made them smile.

"Well she's lucky to have us because no one can handle her personality as well as we do, " Shikamaru said.

* * *

Meanwhile..

"Agh Ibiki-sensei," Ino said exasperatedy.

"What is it Ino? You seem frustrated " Ibiki asked.

"I can't seem to walk in peace without someone trying to flirt/hit on me, It's annoying as fuck. What's a girl gotta do for some peace? " Ino said as she looked at the scenery of the village from the balcony.

"Aha I don't know, I wish I knew but you're Ino, Ino, " Ibiki said to his apprentice as he sees her rest her chin on her hand and that her elbow was against the bars.

" And cheer up, I know that you're actually enjoying the attention deep down, " Ibiki said.

"So what if I am. It doesn't mean that I can actually walk around and explore Kumogakure. Heck, I'm not even looking for a relationship!" Ino said.

"Good because all you need to focus now is the mission. Well, talk to you later Ino, I'm gonna go explore the village, so see ya " Ibiki said and waved her goodbye as he leaves her alone.

"But what If I unconsciously develop feelings for someone, then what will happen?" Ino asked herself and thinks back to a few hours before they arrived in Kumogakure when she offered her hand to C.

 _"Why did I suddenly feel sparks when we touched? This never happened to me before. Argh, it's probably something else. I should just ignore it and I bet he didn't feel anything back. But, his hands felt soo good against mine, it's almost like they fit against mine perfectly just right like a jigsaw puzzle piece. His hands were rough but not too rough... just like how I like it and they felt good. Oh gosh, what's wrong with me? Focus Ino, focus. Don't screw up this mission because of my personal feelings Ino, remember to focus !... but C's quite handsome and smart ... Oh my gosh Ino, focus! "_

* * *

A few hours later, Darui, C, Shikamaru, Chouji, Ino, Ibiki, meet the Raikage at the T&I building. Right beside the Raikage was the Kumogakure's top chief V. V was the most experienced and skilled Kumo shinobi in the unit.

"It's nice to meet you, Ino and Ibiki. I heard great things from Raikage-sama. I'm looking forward to working with you guys " V said as he shakes both Ino's and Iibik's hands.

"It's nice to meet you too V-san, " Ino said.

"It's nice to meet you too V," Ibiki said.

" I heard that Ino is quite skilled right?" V said

"She is" Ibiki proudly said

"I'm looking forward to it, let's put your skills to the test when you interrogate the criminal's mind "

"Yes sir, I'm prepared for it," Ino said.

"Alright, bring him in and set him up," V said to the workers.

The workers bring the criminal in. The criminal was handcuffed and looked like he had multiple bruises on his body. He was then set and secured in a boulder like a chair where it only has a hole so the head sticks out so he won't be able to break out.

"Let me out of here! I know nothing! If you guys don't let me go, I'll kill you guys and –"

"Be quiet and shut up!" V said.

"Says who? You're not the boss of me. I can do whatever the fuck I want —"

"Hey there," Ino said to the criminal and fluttered her eyelashes.

"Oh hey sweet cheeks, why don't you do me a favor and let me go so we can have some fun together? " The criminal said to Ino.

"Sure, but let me do something first," Ino said sweetly yet devilishly to the criminal.

"Sure, as long as you're the only one touching me then I'm good. You can touch me all you want sweet cheeks" the criminal said and winked at Ino.

 _"Um, ew. Can he stop trying to hint on me , it's revolting" Ino said to herself in disgust._

"Alright you said so," Ino said and jabbed the area between the back of his head and neck.

"Wait, what are you—" The criminal said and fell unconscious

"Wait, what the hell did you do ?! " V asked Ino

"I put him unconscious, it's easier for me to interrogate his mind that way and so that he can stop trying to hit on me, it's disgusting," Ino said.

"Let her do whatever she wants, she knows what she's doing, " Ibiki said to V

"Alright," V said as he observes the kunoichi

Ino performs the hand seals to concentrate her chakra, she then places her hands against the criminal's head and starts to interrogate his mind. A few seconds after trying to get into his mind, a black and dark mysterious creature appears out of nowhere which startles Ino and disrupts her chakra control. Because of this, Ino lost contact and connection of the technique and let's go her hand. This left everyone in shock, including her teammates and the Raikage.

"Is there something wrong, Ino ?" Ibiki asked since he was concerned. It was unusual to witness something like that happen to Ino.

"I saw something odd maybe it's because I lost focus of my chakra control. Let me do it again please " Ino said.

"Take your time, " V said

"I guess that's what happens when you constantly get praises and you get full of yourself and become cocky" C said as he was irritated that Ino wasn't doing her job properly. He didn't like seeing people not do their jobs properly.

 _"That guy should really shut up because now's not the time.. ugh " Ino said to herself._

Being slightly frustrated at herself already, Ino tries to remain calm and composed and ignored C's words. She needed to focus and C's words won't make it any better.

"Perhaps that was some sort of a genjutsu barrier. I should perform my genjutsu reversal first then" Ino said to herself.

Before performing the hand seals for mind interrogation, Ino performs the genjutsu reversal first on the criminal. She then concentrates on her chakra control once more and performs the hand seal to interrogate the criminal's mind.

" Have this happened to Ino before ?" Darui asked Shikamaru

"No, but I'm assuming that it was just a fluke, so don't worry about it. She's Ino" Shikamaru responded while he watching Ino.

A few seconds to a minute pass and Ino finishes interrogating the criminal's mind successfully.

"When I went through his memories, it looked like criminal had no goal whatsoever. He was just driven by revenge. He just wanted to get revenge to a certain someone for ruining his past life. His past consisted of assault and deaths from his close families and friends which can explain his behavior. It might be best to put him through therapy to deal with his condition. Other than that, you shouldn't worry about anything" Ino said to the Raikage and V.

"From what I recall earlier, you said that you saw something odd, can you elaborate what that could be "

"I think it was a genjutusu barrier that he put himself into, perhaps it's to protect himself or something. I wouldn't worry much about it " Ino said.

"Good work Yamanaka," The Raikage said.

"Thanks but sorry about the fact that my first try didn't go so well Raikage-sama and V-san, " Ino said.

"It's alright, everyone makes mistakes. Oh yeah, I heard that you guys caught two rogue shinobis the other day, I was thinking if you can interrogate them too today. Is it okay with you guys, Ino and Ibiki ?" V asked.

"Oh, I would like to but it's better to interrogate them tomorrow… if that's possible because the jutsu I put them on doesn't wear off till midnight. It's just that it'll be easier for me to interrogate them once the mind-paralyzing technique wears off. I hope you don't mind Raikage-sama and V-san " Ino said.

"Is that so? Hm, what do you think Raikage-sama ?" V asked the Raikage.

"What's most important is the state of the mind interrogator and what she thinks is the best so yes Ino, you can do it tomorrow, " The Raikage said.

"Thank you, soo much Raikage-sama, " Ino said.

"Hm, but I better not expect another accident like today's tomorrow, " The Raikage said.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure I won't! " Ino said.

"Good," the Raikage said and exited the room.

"Good work, Ino, " Ibiki said and pats her back.

"Thanks, Ibiki-sensei but I'm a bit disappointed with what happened on the first try, " Ino said as she was slightly disappointed in herself.

"It's okay, we're humans, we all make mistakes," Shikamaru said to his teammate and patted her shoulder to reassure her that it was okay.

"Yeah I know that Shika but-"

" I hope you actually do your job properly. No one likes it when people don't do their job properly, especially Raikage-sama. I'm surprised that he bought your excuse. I bet that you're not trying at all, stop trying to pretend that you're so great " C said to Ino which caused her to become irritated at him.

"Me? Pretending to be great? Well, excuse you, for your information you have no idea hard, it is to perform the mind interrogation technique. It requires precise control, so precise that I bet you don't know how to do it, you know-it-all! Learn to be considerate to others and plus, I bet you have made mistakes before am I right?! "Ino said as she was surprised to hear C say something so rude to her.

"So what if I did, I wouldn't do it in front of top ranking shinobis like Raikage-sama and V-sama " C argued back

"Also, it was rather rude and unprofessional of you to insult me when I was doing my work. Ugh, whatever, why do I even bother wasting my time talking to you. Let's go get something to eat Shikamaru and Chouji" Ino said and left with her teammates.

"She's sassy but she does have a point, C, " Darui said to C.

"Whatever, let's go to Raikage-sama, " C said to Darui and the two bodyguards exits the room.

* * *

On their way to the Raikage, C and Darui walk down the stairs that will bring them to the exit of the building. At the same time when C was walking, someone walking by accidentally sneezes on him.

"Disgusting, he should've used a tissue" C said as he looked back to the person.

* * *

A few hours later

C and Darui already arrived at the Raikage's room hours before. They were listening to whatever the Raikage was saying. They were also discussing some things to the Raikage and were giving their opinion on them too. However, during that whole time, C was sneezing and coughing non-stop.

"Yo C, are you alright? You don't look so well, you haven't stopped sneezing ever since we arrived " Darui asked.

"It's okay, I'm pretty sure it's nothing serious and plus, I'm pretty sure my body is strong enough to overcome it. Give me a few hours and I should be good, I know my body the best" C said and sneezed into a tissue.

"You sure about that? " Darui said.

"There's nothing to worry about, and it's my duty to serve my job as one of Raikage-sama's right-hand man's" C stubbornly said.

"Alright, whatever you say, " Darui said to C.

* * *

One more hour later

Both C and Darui were moving some books, boxes, scrolls, and etc around the building.

"Hey C, did you get the summoning scrolls from the storage room?" Darui asked C as he sorting the scrolls out.

"Oh, I'll get that now, " C said as he blew his nose in a bundle of tissues and dizzily walked to the storage room.

"Oh gosh, he should really rest, " Darui said as he looked at the sick boy.

A few minutes later, C comes back with the summoning scrolls in his hands.

"I'm back, I have the scrolls. Is it me or is it really hot in here? I'm sweating like crazy " C said and wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"It's just you C, go home and rest. You look horrible right now " Darui said.

"I'm fine! And I'm meeting my mother in an hour, so I don't want to let her down" C said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead again and sneezed some more.

"Look C, as a good friend I –"

"Hey Darui, what are you guys doing ?" Ino

"Hey Ino, what are you doing here?"Darui said.

"Oh, I was walking by and I saw that you guys were in here. Just wanted to drop by and say hi " Ino said.

"Oh C and I were ordered arrange and move some things, " Darui said.

"Ahh I see," Ino said as she looks around the room and sees C slightly dozing off in the corner

"Um, what's wrong with him ?" Ino asked.

" Well, he's clearly sleeping since he's sick but he refuses to go home and rest, " Darui said and yelled at the last part which causes C to wake up.

"I'm feeling fi—" C said and as he was about to faint, Ino catches him.

"Woah there, " Ino said as she catches him.

Her arms were around C trying her best to not let him fall flat on the floor. One arm was around his waist trying to hold him up and one was around her neck. Ino noticed that C was looking paler than usual and she places her hand on his forehead. and notices that his temperature is burning and that he has the fever.

 _"How can a medic-nin be this stubborn and stupid?! He clearly knows that he has a fever right now yet he's not giving himself rest and he's still working like as if his life depends on it, " Ino said to herself as she tried to hold him up._

"He's burning up Darui. He has the fever. Where is his room? " Ino asked Darui.

"Room 128, what are you going to do to him ?" Darui responded back curiously.

"Um, I'm going to go treat him since it's my job to do so … as a medic-nin you know, " Ino said.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Well, good luck! "Darui said

"Thanks," Ino said as she holds C up.

"No problem, " Darui said to the kunoichi as she disappears from his sight.

Ino arrive shortly finds C's room and as she was about to ask C his keys, she sees that he's asleep. Ino sighs then look for his keys. She successfully finds them in his shirt pocket. She then unlocks his room and gently lay him on his bed. She goes to his bathroom to wash her hands and begins to medicate the sick boy. First things first, Ino begins by changing his sweat soaked clothes and undresses him while she tries her best to not swoon over his lean yet muscular body aka her ideal body type on a male. She could feel herself getting hot and bothered.

 _"Oh my gosh Ino, now not the time for that " Ino yelled to herself_

After she changes his clothes she hears C trying to say something.

"Water…I need water " C unconsciously said and Ino gives him some water from his kitchen to drink.

After that, she looks at his face and brushes his bangs away from his face. She then places her palm against his forehead and uses the mystic palm technique to cool down his fever. A while later, she places a wet towel on his forehead and leaves some medication and a glass of water on his bedside table.

 _"He should be fine by tomorrow. Looks like I have done my work well" Ino said to herself and exits his room._

As she exits the room she sees a middle –aged woman passes by her but doesn't notice that the lady was staring at her.

Unbeknownst to Ino, that woman was C's mother.

* * *

When Ino took C to his room, Darui finished up his work shortly and went home to get some rest. On his way home, he remembers that he should tell C's mother that C is sick and that he couldn't meet up with her so she won't get mad at her son. It was the least he could do.

A while later, Darui arrives at C's mother's place and sees her waiting for her son.

"Hey Mrs. C!" Darui said

"Oh, hey Darui, have you seen C? He was supposed to be here 30 minutes ago and he's still not here" C's mother said

"Ah, I see and I have seen him but the thing is...he's sick at the moment and in bed," Darui said to the worried mother.

"Oh no! what happened to him?" C's mother asked.

"I guess he walked by someone who was sneezing and he caught whatever that person has. But don't worry about him! I had a friend of mine escort him back to his place and she's a medic-nin. He should be fine." Darui said to the kind lady.

"Aw, that's kind of you but I should at least visit him today then. It was sweet of you to tell me. Thanks for letting me know Darui. C's luck to have you as his friend"

"Ah, you're being too kind! Anyways, I need to go home and rest, bye" Darui said to C's mother.

"Hm, I should visit C before I go to the flower shop, " C's mother said to herself and heads to her son's place.

* * *

By the time C's mother arrives in the hallway where her son's place is at, she sees a young blonde lady with long hair coming out of her son's room. It was rather odd to see someone that's the opposite sex coming out of her son's place. C's mother was suspicious about the young blonde lady.

"Hm, I wonder who she is...Is she the medic-nin that Darui told me? … and she's a hidden leaf shinobi too! " C's mother said to herself as she observed the blonde kunoichi with her sharp eyes.

She sees that the blonde lady is no longer in her sight and proceeds to walk to her son's place.

C's mother opens the door with the spare keys her son gave her and sees him sleeping peacefully on his bed with a towel on his forehead. She looked beside her sleeping son and sees that there was a glass of water and some medication on his bedside table. She then removes the towel off from him and measures his temperature. To her surprise, his temperature wasn't too high but he still had a bit of a fever.

"Huh, she really was the medic-nin that Darui mentioned. I should at least thank her when I see her again… Well, if that's ever going to happen" C's mother said to herself.

Seeing that the medic-nin did most/all the work, C's mother looks around the place some more exits the place. She then heads to the flower place to ask for help regarding her ill-looking flowers.

* * *

Ino Yamanaka had a busy day and was tired from it. In order to get rid of the tiredness, she took a nap- something she hasn't done in months. After waking up from her nap, she figured that it was the best time for her to take a stroll around the village and hopefully not get hit on or have guys trying to flirt with her. She was sick and tired of it.

And to her surprise, there wasn't, well, there was but not as much as there was a few hours ago. It was tolerable. She walked around the village and saw that there was a flower shop nearby. Although it's been technically a day since she arrived in Kumogakure, Ino was a bit homesick believe it or not. In order to tend her homesickness, she walked into the flower shop which reminded of her family's flower shop back in Konoha. She looked at the vibrant flowers and picked out some so she wouldn't miss home as much. As she was picking out some flowers, she overhears a conversation between a customer and the cashier. Unknown to Ino, the customer was C's mother.

"So I have a question. I have a bed of flowers in my garden but I couldn't help but notice that their leaves had black spots on it" C's mother said.

"Black spots? Sorry, I'm not too sure about ma'am. I'm just a worker here "

"Aw, that's okay I'll just wait for the owner, when is she coming back ?"C's mother asked.

"In an hour or so, " The cashier said.

"Oh, I see," C's mother said as she checks the time.

Ino sees that the customer was waiting for the owner to come so she can ask for help but judging by the customer's face, it looked like she had to go somewhere. In then decided to step in and help the customer.

"Sorry ma'am, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation .I'm also a florist too perhaps I can help ?" Ino said to the customer.

 _"She's the young lady from earlier ... So, she's a medic-nin and a florist too ?!" C's mother said to herself._

"Oh, really? It's great that you're here! I was getting worried since I had to go somewhere in an hour " C's mother said as she was feeling relieved,

Ino smiles at the customer as she was in joy now that she doesn't need to wait for an hour for help.

"So what do you need help on ma'am?" Ino asked the customer politely.

"I have a bed of flowers in my garden and at first, I thought they just needed more water but then as weeks pass by, I noticed that there were black spots on their leaves. Does that mean that the flowers are ill or sick?"C's mother said.

"Black spots? Hm, usually when you see black spots on the leaves, it's a good indication that the flower has a disease" Ino said.

"Oh I see, so what are the ways to fix/treat it?" C's mother said.

"There are many ways to fix it but my personal favorite would be using the seaweed spray," Ino said.

"The seaweed spray?"C's mother said as she unfamiliar with the treatment/remedy.

"Yes, it's a very simple remedy where you basically steep 2/3 of a cup of kelp in water and spray it on the leaves. Spray it 1-2 times daily for at least a week or two and the disease should be gone by then"Ino instructed.

"Well, that sounds lovely and it's simple! I'm going to give that a try. Thank you, soo much dear "C's mother said.

"You're welcome ma'am, I just wanted to help a fellow flower lover like me,"Ino said which made the customer ( C's mother) laugh a bit.

"You're adorable. Oh by the way, where are you from? It looks like you're new here, is this your first time in Kumogakure?" C's mother asked.

"I'm a shinobi from Konoha. I also work for my family's flower shop apart from being a shinobi" Ino said.

"Oh I see, you must be here visiting someone right? " C's mother

"Something like that" Ino said since she needed to keep her mission a secret. It was one of the main rules of being a shinobi; never tell anyone besides shinobis from your village about your mission.

C's mother was enjoying her conversation with the young lady and noticed that she was holding a bunch of beautiful looking flowers

"Well, it was really nice meeting you, I don't want to bother you buying the beautiful bunch of flowers in your hands," C's mother said

"Oh, it's nothing really, you weren't bothering me at all!" Ino said politely.

"Well I should go, I need to head home and make dinner since my husband is coming home soon," C's mother said as she checks the time on her watch.

"Alright, It was nice meeting you too! have a nice day, " Ino said to the customer

"She's really pretty and quite charming. I hope C finds someone like her someday" C's mother said to herself as she observes the young kunoichi happily purchasing her flowers.

* * *

A/N: I don't know why but coming up with ideas for this chapter took me longer than I expected. I guess I had a bit of writer's block but it's gone now… hopefully.

Nevertheless, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!

Till next time… which should be pretty soon. I'm trying to at least upload one more chapter before my next university semester starts which is on Monday OTL.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Like I promised in the last chapter, here is another chapter! Sorry that this chapter came later than I thought. I just started my summer semester and that work have been keeping me busy nowadays OTL BUT, thank youu to everyone reading this fanfic of mine, it really means a lot!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and the characters.

* * *

It was the morning after and it was 8 am. The sun was shining and the clouds were floating effortlessly in the blue skies. The perfect weather was doing a great job showing how beautiful Kumogakure was. The bright and bold sun made everyone happy because of its presence. However, it didn't exactly liven up someone 's mood in particular. It was someone who was sick in bed the day before. And that someone is none other than C. The bright and shining sun disrupted C's peaceful sleep when its rays touched his face.

Not wanting to wake up anytime soon, C pulled his covers over his head to block the sun and proceeded to sleep some more. After a few minutes, it suddenly came to him that he needed to wake up now or feel the Raikage's wrath. With this sudden realization, C pulled down the covers and lazily rubbed eyes and massaged his temples. He opened his eyes and to his left was a glass of water and medication for his fever.

 _"Wait, I'm in my room ….But, how did I get into my room? I don't recall finishing work and walking home yesterday" C wondered to himself._

C then removed his covers and to his surprise, he was wearing his pajamas instead of his normal work/usual attire.

 _"And I don't recall changing my clothes either…. Did someone took care of me yesterday? Ugh, I better hurry up before I feel Raikage-sama's wrath. I'll just ask Darui about the details later" C said to himself and scratched his head._

C was feeling better than the day before, he was about 80% recovered from his fever. Being the obedient self he is, he took the pills from his bedside table and swallowed it with some water. As a medic-nin himself, he knew that it was best for him to take the medication, so his fever won't come back. He then proceeded to his bathroom and clean himself up and change into his normal work/usual attire.

A few minutes later, C checks the time again and sees that he has at least 10 minutes to get something in his stomach. He opens his fridge and sees that there was almost nothing but some drinks and fruits. Not in the mood for fruits, he opened the kitchen cabinets and sees a loaf of bread that looks like its past expiry date since blue spots with fuzz were around the crusts.

 _"Oh, crap… Do I even have something that I can eat for breakfast ….oh wait, I do! I have bananas that I bought the other day" C said to himself._

Now that he remembers that he has bananas, C tries to find them in his kitchen. But, to his displeasure, he sees that all the bananas have turned brown and he did not like over-ripe bananas.

"Shit" C said now that he's frustrated.

Seeing that he already wasted 10 minutes of his life, he decides to 'fuck it' and rush out the door with an empty stomach.

It was no surprise to see C's kitchen with little to no food because let's be honest, C rarely cooked. In fact, he's a horrible cook. Like, really, really horrible. If there was one thing that C is atrocious at, it would be cooking. Cooking is not one of C's strength. Instead, it's one of his major weaknesses. He's soo bad that sometimes he doesn't eat what he makes because he doesn't even know if it's still edible or not. Also, there was this one time that he burnt instant noodles. Like, who the hell does that? This significant characteristic of C's was what drove his mother crazy because she keeps telling him to not go out to eat every day and make a home cook meal for himself since it's healthier that way but seeing that C has no talent in such area, it looks like that it's never going to happen.

Already admitting to himself that he cannot cook for his life, he vowed to find a loving partner who is an exceptional cook. Despite the fact that he can't cook, there is always a way to fix that, and that is to find someone who can cook better than him.

* * *

C was walking to the T&I unit and just so happen to bump into Darui along the way.

"Feeling better?" Darui asked.

"Yeah, I'm feeling a lot better" C responded

"Good, you should've seen yourself yesterday. You looked like you were about to die or something " Darui said.

"Aha yeah… sorry about yesterday" C said and apologized to Darui.

"It's okay C. It happens, " Darui said.

"Oh yeah, I was wondering who took care me home yesterday because I don't remember anything after I fell asleep on the books…. Was it you?" C asked curiously.

"So he doesn't remember that Ino took care of him…That's so dull of him" Darui said to himself in his head.

"Wait, so you don't remember anything afterwards? And no, it wasn't me" Darui said and clarified.

"Then who was it," C said.

"It's someone we both know. Don't worry about it. Did she do something to you?"

"She, so it's a woman," C said to himself.

"No, she didn't do anything to me," C said

"That's good "

Darui and C were walking to the T&I unit in the early morning to supervise the mind interrogation session. The session was in a few minutes. They were passing by multiple food stalls and restaurants. As usual, the restaurants and food vendors gave off the delicious aroma of their food which filled the air. The aroma soon touched C's nostrils and his stomach grumbled, reminding himself that he left the house with an empty stomach. Darui was able to hear it and laughed a bit.

"Did you eat breakfast?" Darui asked.

"No, I was in a hurry and you know how I can't cook shit, " C said

"Ahaha yeah, I hope you find someone who can cook then, " Darui said

"Hm," C said.

* * *

Both C and Darui arrived at the T&I unit shortly after and saw that everyone was there already but V. V was preparing and talking to the Raikage. While everyone was waiting for the session to start, Ino tapped C's shoulder and to his surprise, showed him a bento box.

"What? Why are you showing a bento box to me?" C asked to the kunoichi.

"It's for you. I figured that you didn't have time for breakfast today. I noticed that your kitchen barely has any food yesterday" Ino said.

"Wait, how do you know that? Why were you at my place yesterday ?" C asked with a puzzled face.

"Well, who do you think brought you home yesterday and took care of you then? Especially when you're that sick?!" Ino said.

"You took care of me? "C said

"Well yeah. Didn't Darui tell you?" Ino said.

"No..no he didn't," C said to Ino.

"Oh, well anyways, the bento box is for you, take it," Ino said.

"I was wondering what that delicious smell was and I see that it's from that bento box," Darui said

"Ehe thanks Darui, I woke up early to make it," Ino said to Darui.

"You made this?" C asked

"Yup," Ino said.

"Wow, I didn't know you can cook well, Ino," Darui said

"Well, I have some skills up my sleeves but it's really nothing," Ino said.

"Ino's a great cook, it's just that she doesn't acknowledge it, " Chouji said as he joined the conversation with Shikamaru by his side.

"What do you think of her cooking, Shikamaru ?" Darui asked the pineapple head since he was curious on what the genius prodigy thinks.

"She's a good cook, better than me for sure," Shikamaru said and his attention was caught on something.

Shikamaru sees that C's hands held a bento box and figured that Ino made it. He was slightly envious of C. The last time Ino made him a bento box was a while ago and it was one of his favorites. He's also been craving for it ever since they departed from Konoha.

"She makes the best yakisoba ever. No one can beat it, even my mother's can't compete with hers and that's saying a lot" Chouji said

"You're quite a cook aren't you, Ino," Darui said.

"I'm not, it's just that Chouji and Shikamaru are way too nice. They're lying" Ino said.

"It's true though," Chouji said

"Whatever" Shikamaru said.

"Stop being so modest Ino, you're a good cook. Heck, your bento box smells amazing … right C?" Darui said and nudged C

"Huh? … I guess" C said.

 _"It actually smells delicious ..." C said to himself._

"Really?... you think so too, C?" Ino said and was happy to hear that C somewhat complimented her cooking.

 _"Wait.. why do I care so much what he thinks… I think I'm going crazy" Ino said to herself_

"Ino" Ibiki called Ino.

"Well, thanks for the compliment guys. You really shouldn't have, Ibiki is calling me. I'll talk to you guys later" " Ino said and walked towards Ibiki.

"Why didn't you tell me that it was Ino" C said to Darui.

"I wanted it to be a surprise," Darui said

"Why would I be surprised? C said

"Because it's Ino" Darui said

"Oh cmon, she's a medic-nin. It's her job" C said.

"Stop pretending that you weren't surprised C," Darui said to himself

 _"So what if I was surprised. If I was surprised I wouldn't even tell Darui about it ...But I should at least thank her " C said to himself_

"I wasn't surprised, " C said and lied.

"Whatever you say. Are you gonna eat that bento box right? Because if you're not, I'll gladly take it off your hands" Darui said

"No, I'm eating it. I didn't even have breakfast and I'm starving" C said and quickly took a bite from it for now so he won't starve as much.

 _"This tastes…delicious. This has to be the best bento box I ever had ...maybe even better than Mother's" C said to himself._

He wanted to eat more of the bento box but couldn't do so since the interrogation session was about to start. He then suddenly remembered something that his parents said that was somewhat related to the bento box. His parents said a statement and an advice that had to do with finding a spouse.

 _"You know someone's a keeper when the food they make can sweep you off your feet "_

 _"A man who can't cook will never attract a lady. Females like it when they meet someone who can cook"_

Although the last one was more of a diss on him.

* * *

"Alright, let's resume back from the last session, bring in the first one," V said.

"Yes sir," The workers said.

"You ready Yamanaka?" V asked the blonde kunoichi.

"I've been ready ever since I was born," Ino said.

"Good," V said.

The workers came back and they were holding on to one of the rogue shinobis that they captured a few days ago. The rogue shinobi was no longer paralyzed but was unconscious. He was then set and secured in a boulder like a chair where it only has a hole so the head sticks out so he won't be able to break out.

Ino placed both her index and pointer finger against a vein in his neck to feel his heartbeat.

"Alright, he's ready," Ino said and began to control her chakra. After a few seconds of controlling her chakra delicately, she then performs the hand seal and places her hands on the shinobi's head. A few seconds in, she sees a bunch of genjutsu barriers and was not surprised. After interrogating the criminal's mind last time, Ino prepared herself in advance for situations like this so she won't suffer from the same incident again. She was able to open each and every barrier since she incorporated her genjutsu reversal with her mind interrogation technique. But because of the multiple barriers, the time Ino usually takes doubled. Thus, slowing down the process.

 _"She's taking longer than usual.. is she alright?" C said to himself_

"She's taking longer than last time, Ibiki" V said

"There are genjutsu barriers in there," Ibiki said.

"Genjutsu barriers?... I heard of them but in minds?" V said

"Yes. Ino usually takes 30seconds to a minute but when there are barriers, it slows down the process. So she takes double the time" Ibiki said.

"If she's taking longer than expected, wouldn't she be more at risk then?" The Raikage said.

"No, not exactly. But if it's not done right, it can lead to some physical strain on the interrogator " Ibiki said.

A few more seconds pass and Ino opens her eyes.

"He's clear. He's similar to the criminal last time. He abandoned the village and vowed to take revenge on the village by attacking innocent people. This was because he wanted to ruin the village's reputation. The other rogue shinobi, his partner, has a high probability of having the same intentions as him but I will still interrogate him just in case" Ino said.

"Good work," Ibiki said to Ino.

"Thanks" Ino tiredly said.

"Now that you finished the first one, let's move on to the—" V said but was interrupted by Ibiki.

"We're going to take a break V, Ino needs it. A long period of mind interrogation can drain quite a bit of chakra making the interrogator extremely fatigue. It's highly recommended to take a break before going on to the next session" Ibiki said.

"Alright, I trust you Ibiki, " V said.

"Thanks, sensei, I—" Ino said tiredly but she couldn't finish her sentence since she used up quite a bit of her chakra. And because of that she was about to pass out and fall.

Both Shikamaru and C saw that she was about to fall so they tried to reach out and catch her –well, at least hoping that one of them will catch her. Luckily, Ino did not hit the ground and instead fell into someone's arms, C's arms to be specific.

Shikamaru was also about to catch her fall thinking that he'll be able to but was then surprised to see that C was faster than him and Ino was in his arms instead of his own. Shikamaru felt guilty as a teammate of hers since he wasn't able to catch her fall but was also grateful that she didn't hit the ground at the same time.

"Ino, are you okay?" C asked as he was trying to remain calm after catching Ino.

His heart beat was beating 5x faster and he couldn't stop feeling butterflies in his stomach. The effect that Ino had on him was ridiculous. But, he liked the feeling of Ino in his arms, her body just fit nicely against his like a puzzle piece. However, his moment with Ino soon died when she managed to control her body and that she got off of his arms. She was regaining back her conscious after almost falling to the ground. She was so chakra drained that she almost fainted.

"Oh.. I'm fine. I'm just really tired… I need to take a nap. Thanks for catching me C. I really appreciated "Ino said as she stumbled a bit.

"You sure Ino? You looked like you were about to faint just a few minutes ago " Shikamaru said. He was concerned for Ino.

"Yeah. I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me Shika" Ino said as she was now fully conscious and tried to reassure Shikamaru that she was fine. She didn't want him to worry about her because he would become super protective of her whenever she wasn't feeling well. Ino didn't want to deal with an overprotective Shikamaru at the moment.

"Alright…but do you need to visit the hospital?" Shikamaru asked worriedly.

"Shika, like I said, I'm fine. I just need to rest and I'm good. Don't worry so much about me. I'm a big girl" Ino said as she playfully hit his shoulder

"Troublesome" Shikamaru said to Ino.

"Well, now that we're on a break for a few hours, I'm going to go take a nap. I'm exhausted. I'll see you guys later " Ino said to the group and exited the room.

"Oh wait, I forgot to thank her. Shit " C said to himself and ran to Ino.

"Where are you going C?" Darui asked.

"I have some things to do" C quickly said and dashed to Ino quickly hoping that she didn't walk too far.

* * *

With his sensing abilities, C was able to sense that Ino was close. He sees that Ino just opened the door and was just outside the building. As he was about to walk up to her, he stopped after hearing an unfamiliar voice. The voice belonged to a jonin that he knew but at the same time, he didn't. C hid at a corner and was able to listen to their conversation.

"Hey Ino"

"Hi… and you are..?" Ino said politely but in an annoying manner, if that was even possible.

Ino was slightly annoyed that some random person stopped her when she was trying to get to her room to get some rest. She figured that he was trying to hit on her judging by his confidence tone and was not in the mood for it.

"I'm Roku and it's nice to meet you," Roku said and reached out his hand to Ino for a handshake.

"It's nice to meet you too. " Ino said and the two shook hands.

"He's touching her!" C said to himself.

"So how's your day so far?"Roku said

"It's been good, you?"Ino said and asked back.

"it's been good too but I'm hoping that it'll get better later on," Roku said

"Oh, that's good, how so?" Ino said.

"Well…. I was hoping that you could help" Roku said and rubbed the back of his head since he was a bit shy at the moment.

"Ugh, here it goes again, " Ino said to herself in the back of her mind

"What do you mean?" Ino asked innocently (not)

"I was wondering if I can take you out to dinner someday… maybe today but yeah" Roku said

"Oh, I'm flattered but I'm going to reject your offer, Roku. I appreciate your kindness and all but I'm not looking for a relationship at the moment. Sorry Roku, I hope you understand" Ino said

"Oh I see," Roku said and was trying to process that Ino rejected him.

"Yeah. Sorry. Well, I'm going to go. I have some important stuff to do" Ino said.

"Okay..." Roku said

The mood soon became awkward after Ino's rejection. The two of them eventually said goodbye to each other... to get out of the awkwardness.

 _"So that's how she rejects people... It looks like she's the more sensible and polite type when she rejects people " C said to himself as he observes them._

Trying to get away from the awkward atmosphere, Ino leaves the situation first and senses that someone is trying to catch up to her. She senses that someone's chakra was familiar and wondered who it was. To her surprise, it was C and she stopped walking.

"Ino" C said

"C? why are you here" Ino said

"I forgot to tell you something back there " C said

"Oh, what is it?" Ino said

"I wanted to say that I appreciate that you took care of me yesterday and that you made me breakfast...Thank you Ino" C said

"Oh, well, it's really no problem. I was just doing what I should do as a good friend of yours and thanks " Ino said and blushes at C's sudden kind words.

"Yeah.." C said and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. C didn't know what to say next to the blonde and the fact that she was acting adorable ( in his opinion) didn't help at all. There was an awkward tension between the two of them since they both didn't know what to say next. The awkward silence was then disrupted by Ino.

"So, what are you going to do during the break?" Ino asked.

"I don't know," C said

"Well I was going to nap but I'm no longer in the mood to. I think I'm going to take a stroll around the village -" Ino said

"To attract males," C said.

"Haha no, and for your information, I'm not looking for a relationship at the moment," Ino said.

"Oh…"C said

"Yeah.. Do you want to come along with me? " Ino said

"Sure, I have nothing else today besides helping Darui sharpen his dull sword. I would rather take a stroll than do that" C said.

"I noticed that Darui says "Dull" a lot, " Ino said.

"He does," Darui said

"I bet that's his favorite word," Ino said

"Hm," Darui said.

* * *

It was the usual day of a team hailed from Kumogakure. Team Samui, in particular, were ordered by the Raikage to convince their sensei to cancel his concert and believe it or not, they do this regularly. Team Samui and B has a special relationship considering the fact that two of the members are students of B; Karui and Omoi. There were days that C and Darui will do their jobs but that usually happens every one in a while. Team Samui was just resting after capturing their sensei and telling him to stop the concert. The team members soon departed ways as Samui had some extra work to do leaving both Omoi and Karui by themselves. Having nothing to do, the two teammates walked around their village leisurely. They walked for a bit and something, more like someone, caught Karui's eye. It was C, usually, it would be normal for her to see once in a while but what really caught her eye was the fact that there a female by his side smiling and talking.

"Hold on, do you see that, Omoi?" Karui said.

"See what," Omoi said

"C-san," Karui said

"Yeah, I see him. What's wrong with him? Is he sick or something ?" Omoi said

"No.. not that, look at the person right next to him!" Karui

"A person… wait.. it's a female! " Omoi said

"Yea, I know right! We rarely see C with a girl so this is quite a rare sight…and wow, she's really pretty but who do you think she is and who is she to C-san?" Karui said and inspects the two people

"No idea…but I think she's from the hidden leaf " Omoi said

"Wait, how'd you know?" Karui asked

"Look at her arm, the headband is attached to her outfit," Omoi said

"Interesting" Karui said

"I wonder why C's with a Konoha shinobi… maybe she's his friend … or on a mission….or maybe she's his girlfriend? Omoi said

"Girlfriend? Do you honestly think C would date someone outside the village?" Karui said.

"No idea but who knows. "Omoi said

"let's follow them," Karui said.

"Wait, are you sure about that Karui? We're kind of invading their personal space and what if they're actually dating and they're on a date?!" Omoi said.

"Well, we'll find out when we follow them! C'mon let's go, Omoi!"Karui said and grabbed his collar.

"Now that I think about it, it's been a while since C-san dated right?" Omoi said

"Yeah. it's been a few years … I think " Karui said.

"I don't think this is right Karui, I would rather do something else than stalking two people, "Omoi said.

"If you don't want to do this then explain to me why you're still here," Karui said.

"True, you make a good point," Omoi said.

"C'mon, they're on the move!" Karui said as she pulled Omoi's sleeve.

* * *

C and Ino were cruising around the village. They had no clue that Karui and Omoi were following them... for now. C was showing Ino around since it was her first time in Kumogakure. The two were just chatting normally talking about their mission, life, people, and etc.

"Since you're the Raikage's bodyguard, your life can be pretty fun right?"Ino asked.

"Wel.. not necessarily. There are times where Darui and I just stand in his office and listen to Raikage ramble and stuff. Other times consists of me and Darui catching B-sama. It's not as fun as it looks" C said.

"Well, at least it's better than mine. I have to work in a stoic and tense atmosphere with criminals most of the time" Ino said.

"True. Don't you have 3 jobs?" C said.

"I guess considering I also sometimes work at the hospital and other times in my family's flower shop… wait, how'd you know?" Ino said.

"Uh…I….uh' C stuttered.

"Well….? I'm waiting for your answer, C" Ino said.

* * *

"Oh my gosh, did C-san just stuttered …. This is golden!" Karui said.

"Listen Karui, I don't think this is a good idea… what if they find out and … like what if they scold us and stuff.. oh my gosh, or worse… Raikage-sama will punish us for eavesdropping. OH, MY LOR—" Omoi said and panicked.

"Calm the fuck down! Omoi" Karui said and punched his head.

* * *

"So..?" Ino said.

"Well..this was before I met you and it was back in Konoha. Darui and I were walking around the village and we happen to pass by a flower shop. We saw you help a little girl pick a flower and we initially thought you were just a plain florist till we saw you heal her. And then, it just so happens that you're the mind interrogator that the Raikage and Ibiki have been talking about" C said.

"Oh I see, that makes a lot of sense" Ino said.

"Yeah," C said as he blushes while he avoided her eye contact and rubbed the back of his neck.

"C-san's blushing… is he embarrassed? …does he like the girl…..or are they dating " Omoi said.

"Hush Omoi, I'm trying to listen to their conversation," Karui said and nudged Omoi forcefully. However, she nudged him with soo much force that he accidentally dropped his lollipop that was in his mouth. The sound of the lolipop dropping can be heard easily.

"My lolip—"Omoi said and had his mouth covered.

"Crap," Karui said and covered Omoi's mouth so both C and Ino won't find out that they're following them.

And in a split second, Karui and Omoi hid at a nearby alleyway.

* * *

The two jonins were talking and walking peacefully, however, they both heard something. Since C and Ino were both sensors themselves, they were able to sense two chakras indicating that two people were following them.

"You know there are two people following us right ?" Ino said to C softly so both Karui and Omoi can't hear them.

"Yeah. I noticed that a few minutes ago" C said

"You're a sensor?"Ino asked.

"Hm," C said.

"I did not know that," Ino said.

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me," C said.

"Yeah yeah…Do you know them?" Ino said.

"I do, they're B-sama's students. But I have no idea why the fuck they're following us. I figured that it was nothing but its been 15 minutes. Seriously, do they have absolutely nothing to do or what. I can't believe they're actually using their time to do this" C said.

"Well, they're sure an interesting duo considering their sneaking up on us. I give them some credits" Ino said.

"It's time for us to put this to an end, " C said.

"Yup," Ino said.

And both Ino and C disappeared instantly so Karui and Omoi can stop following them

* * *

"Hey, where they go?" Karui said.

"Oh my lord… did they find out or what .. I can't afford to die right now... I'm too young and I—" Omoi panicked.

"Shut up Omoi. I doubt that they found out. We were—"Karui said.

"Following and eavesdropping on us ?" C said to them as he suddenly appeared behind them with Ino beside them.

"God dammit Karui, they did find out! And Raikage-sama's going to punish us !" Omoi said.

"Shut up Omoi!" Karui said.

"So.. do you guys have a proper explanation why you guys were following Ino and me ?" C asked.

"Uh… we were just…well, the thing is C-san is that—"Karui said but was interrupted by Omoi.

"Oh.. so the pretty shinobi's name is Ino…" Omoi said.

"Oh, why thank you. You guys sure have the guts to follow us don't you?" Ino said sweetly but seriously at the same time.

"Sorry" Both Karui and Omoi said.

"Well.. why were you guys following us?" C asked the two kumo shinobis

"The thing is… we were just curious why you were with Ino-san" Karui said.

"Huh?" Ino said and was confused.

"What, please explain more," C said

"We were curious and shocked that you were hanging with Ino. Since you rarely hang out with females in your spare time" Karui said teasingly.

"Um, what.. is this true C?" Ino said and giggled.

"It's—"C said but was interrupted by Karui

"And when we saw that you stuttering and blushing, we automatically assumed that maybe you guys were on a date. We followed you guys to find out if that was true or not …especially when it's someone as beautiful as Ino we wanted to find out the truth" Karui said.

"That's basically it…you're not going to kill us right," Omoi said

"Ah, I get it and we're not going to kill you," Ino said.

"Oh thank god," Omoi said.

"You guys are silly, don't you guys have better things to do?"C said.

"Aha, the things is , we don't hehe "Karui said.

"Well, you could've used the time you spent on following us to train, " C said.

"Good point..we were actually going to do that now. Let's go Omoi" Karui said.

"Wait, I have one more question," Karui said as she was about dragged by Omoi.

"What is it?" Ino said

"It's for C-sama, sorry Ino-san" Karui said.

"It's alright," Ino said.

"What is it?" C said.

"Can we talk in private?" Karui said.

Both C and Karui walked to the side so they can talk in private leaving Ino with Omoi.

"I wonder what kind of question Karui is going to ask C-san," Omoi said.

"Same but who knows," Ino said.

"True," Omoi said.

* * *

"So what did you want to ask me," C said as he crossed his arms.

"Are you guys dating?" Karui said.

"What, no. We're not dating. Ino and I are just friends and—"

"You like Ino don't you, " Karui said and raised her eyebrows.

"I don't, " C said.

"Okay okay, whatever you say," Karui said.

"Was that all you wanted to ask, Karui ?" C said.

"Yeup" Karui said

"Argh, you guys are really… never mind, just go train!" C said as he was so done with Karui and Omoi.

"Yes, C-san" Karui mischievously said.

* * *

After clearing up the misunderstanding between them, Karui and Omoi soon left them saying that they're going to train( but when in fact they're really not ).

"I don't know what was up with them… sorry about that" C said.

"No need to apologize for them, it was really fun to watch. Omoi looked like he was about to piss his pants when we suddenly appeared behind them

" I guess—"

"C-sama!" A medic nin said as he was running towards C.

"What's wrong?" C said with a concerned face.

"The hospital needs you, we're short a medic-nin and we need one now, "The medic-nin said.

"Alright, I'm coming," C said.

"Can I come? I want to help too" Ino asked.

"Well, I don't see a problem of having an extra medic nin so yes," C said.

"Great," Ino said.

And the nurse, Ino, and C quickly jumped on the buildings and houses so they can get to the hospital faster.

Karui and Omoi didn't exactly go train. They pretended that they were going to when in fact they just hid behind a building to continue spying on the two people. The two of them carefully watched and observed the duo till someone called C.

"Judging by the way C quickly denied my question, it sure looks like he really likes Ino," Karui said.

"Yeah..and I can see why males hit/flirt on Ino and not on you," Omoi said.

"why you little son of a bitch..." Karui said.

"You know that's true, Karui" Omoi said

"SHUT UP OMOI, NO ONE ASKED FOR YOUR OPINION," Karui said.

* * *

A/N: And that's the end…. Of chapter 6 that is XP. I'm actually legit writing this in the library. My lecture is in 30 minutes :P

Till next time~


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: um, hello? I don't know if anyone still reads my fanfic but if you do then I want to say thank you so so much for still reading, commenting, and supporting me. It's unbelievable how Crossing Paths is already 1 year old already! Damn, time sure passes by fast. Anyways, getting straight to the point, I know it's been almost a year since I have last updated and I am sincerely sorry for that. To be quite honest, I've been really busy with university and life in general to the point that I don't have time for myself. BUT, here I am trying to update this fanfic and hopefully finish it by the end of this year… no promises though because I am notorious for not updating anything on time hehe. I hope you guys will enjoy chapter 7 because I really had fun writing this. Fun fact : I actually started this chapter right after I updated the previous chapter but I couldn't find it in my files so I had to start all over again ….oh boy, this a/ns is getting way too long ok bye for now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

* * *

While C, Ino, and the nurse were heading to the hospital, the nurse couldn't help but look at Ino. He didn't know who she was and why she was with C. It's not like he's jealous of her since he's gay, it was more like he was curious about her. In fact, for the first time in a few days, he ( the nurse ) was the first person in Kumogakure to not display any affection nor admiration towards the blonde kunoichi. As he was observing her, he couldn't help but notice that she had a hidden leaf headband on the side of her outfit.

"What are you looking at?" C said as he noticed the male staring at the female.

"Oh, it's nothing. You didn't introduce me to this fine kunoichi here C-san and I couldn't help myself " the nurse said trying to not sound offensive in front of Ino. After all, it was his first time meeting her and meeting a hidden leaf ninja for the first time in his life.. He didn't want to mess up and get on her bad side. He had an image to protect.

"Ino, this is Shinji. Shinji, this is Ino" C said

"Hi, it's nice to meet you Shinji" Ino smiled and waved to Shinj as she flashed her pearly whites.

"It's nice to meet you too. Not mean to be rude, are you from Konoha? Shinji said

"You're quite observant but I give credits to you, Shinji. And yes, I am from Konoha" Ino said

"Hm, so why are you here in Kumogakure?" Shinji asked

"Shinji, that's enough" C said.

"Oh, Sorry C-sama and sorry to you too Ino-san, I didn't mean to be nosey" Shinji apologized

"Huh? You weren't being nosey at all! You 're curious and that's totally fine. As long as you don't ask anything personal and offensive then you're good! And C, you shouldn't have cut him off like that, that was really rude of you" Ino said and scoled.

"Well I'm sorry for not doing my job of protecting you" C mumbled

 _"Protecting me ?… he was protecting me.?. ..that's sweet of him…oh my gosh, Ino, snap out of it!" Ino thought to herself_

"Protecting me? I don't recall being told that" Ino said

"Of course you weren't. You're not supposed to know. You'know being Raikage-sama's body guard is harder than it looks. I do numerous jobs under his orders that you don't know" C said

 _"wow, someone is in a cranky mood " Ino said to herself._

* * *

Flashback

"Before you leave, C and Darui, there's also another thing I need you to do " Raikage said.

"What is it? "

"Make sure to protect Ino Yamanaka. We can't afford her to get hurt, both mentally and physically. We cannot afford any distraction and this mission needs to be executed smoothly with no problems. The Yamanaka's skills are crucial and we need her to stay focused and stable. She plays a major role in this important mission. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir!" C and Darui said

* * *

"Well, why do I need you to protect me though, I have Shikamaru and Chouji by my side" Ino said back

 _"Huh, I would like to see Shikamaru do that. He wasn't fast enough to catch your fall from earlier " C thought_

"Whatever, I'm just trying to do my job and obey Raikage-sama's orders" C said.

"Ino-san is very vocal" Shinji thought

"Oh, Shinji" Ino said

"Yes?"Shinji said

"To answer your question, I am here for Raikage-sama" Ino said

"Ah I see " Shinji said.

 _"An answer expected from a jonin" Shinji thought_

Of course, being a Shinobi has its fair share of rules. One of the biggest and most important rule is to never tell anyone besides your comrades about your mission and the purpose of it.

Shortly after, the trio arrived at the hospital. The hospital wasn't busy but there wasn't very little people, there was a decent amount.

"Oh C-sama, thank god you're here!" The nurse at the receptionist said

"What's going on and what are the details?" C said with a serious look on his face.

" A patient was rushed and he appears to be under some pain. From his charts it looks like his vitals are in shock. We found out that there's an unknown poison in his system and we can't seem to make an antidote. On top of that, he's under genjutsu. We need you to reverse the genjutsu to treat him as much as possible

"Unknown poison ? Hm, we should call Sakura Haruno then" Shinji said said

"There's no need to " Ino said in the background

"What do you mean that we don't need to contact Haruno-san, Ino-san?" Shinji said.

"She's busy at the moment. Remember, she's the head department now, it's not so easy to get her out of Konoha" C said

"You're right C-san" Shinji said

"Let me do the operation, I'm also a medic-nin" Ino said

"Is she actually C-san?" Shinji nudged C and C nodded back at him.

"Alright" Shinji said lightly

"Show me what you got Yamanaka" C said

"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure you're going to be amazed at what I'm capable of" ino said

"Good, don't mess up like you did a few hours ago" C said and reminded Ino of her notorious mistake from earlier

"Yeah Yeah, where is the room?" Ino said

"It's this way, we need to hurry" Shinji said

"Can I see his charts?" C said as he, Ino, and Shinji reached the patient's room

"So far we've ran some tests and we found out that there's an abnormal amount of poison in his system that we need to get rid of. But we need to get rid of the genjutsu… which is why we called you C-san since you're genjutsu is far from exceptional"

"Alright,I'm going to need you guys to step aside and Ino," C said

"Hm?" Ino turned her head to C.

"Stay by my side, I'm going to need you if something unexpected happens" C said

"Don't worry, I'll fix whatever you mess up on " Ino said and teased.

 _" She likes to tease C doesn't she" Shinji said to himself as he observed the duo._

As everyone in the room steps away from the patient, C performs the hand signs for his genjutsu. He places two of this fingers on the patient's head and releases the genjutsu in a matter of seconds.

"huh, you're not too shabby " Ino commented

"concentrate Ino, it's your turn now " C said not wanting her to mess up during the operation.

"Yeah yeah, I don't need you to tell me " Ino said

Ino first fixes her pony tail since it was loose . She tightens so it won't get in the way.

Unbeknownst to her, C was caught off guard and gazes at her as she fixes her hair. Shinji sees this and smirks at the scene.

 _"huh, so C likes her…. Interesting " Shinji said in his head_

She then places her ears beside the patient's chest and checked his eyes. She notices that his heart beat is irregular and his organs are deteriorating due to the poison. She has to get rid of the poison out of the body some way. As she tries to come up a solution to do so, she remembers the time when Sakura mentioned that she used the delicate illness extraction technique in Suna.

" We need to get the poison out of the system as soon as possible before his organs fail even more. I'm going to use the delicate illness technique and I will need the following things to make it work , you guys better be quick to get all these stuff since he doesn't have much time left " Ino said

Ino tells the nurses the materials and stuff needed for the technique and they quickly get it, leaving ino , c and shinji , in the room.

" I heard of that technique … will it work ?" C asked

"Well considering it has a 90% success rate, you tell me " Ino said

 _"I like her already " Shinji said to himself_

Within a minute, the nurses return back with the materials prepared in medicinal fluid

"Ino- sama, here it is mixed and prepared"

" Good, I will need some of you to hold on to him since it can get messy and painful for the patient. The patient will move since it is a painful process. You guys will need to restrain him "

" hai " everyone said.

Ino puts her hand in the mixture, and as she concentrates on her chakra , she lifts it up and the fluid is attached to her hand like a bubble.

"whoa " the nurses said

Using a chakra scalpel, ino uses it to make an incision. She then pushes the medicinal fluid through the incision with the use of her chakra. The fluid then pulls out the poison out of the body and she repeats the process.

During the process, Shinji sees that C had his eyes focused on Ino for the whole time.

After a few hours, almost all of the poison is extracted leaving the patient in a more stable condition.

"Alright, he should be fine for now, all we need to do now is to find the antidote. I'm going to need the poison extracted out of the fluid so I can use it to create an antidote " Ino commanded.

"Hai " and the nurses get right to the job.

" Well you didn't mess up this time. Good job , Yamanaka" C said

"Just call me Ino, I'm not used to people addressing me as Yamanaka , C " Ino said

"Hm" C said

"I didn't know that you're exceptional at medical jutsu too Ino" Shinji said

"Aha, well I – " ino said but was interrupted by Shinji

"She's actually one of the finest medical nin in konoha and was trained under the Tsunade along with Sakura " Ibiki interrupted

"Ibiki- san, you were here ?... Raikage-sama too? " Ino was surprised to see ibiki and the Raikage.

"ah, makes sense " Shinji said.

" I'm impressed Yamanaka " Raikage said.

"Ah, thank you so much Raikage-sama " Ino said

" I didn't know you guys would be here " Ino said

"Well, we heard that you were in the operating room and figured to check it out since it's something we don't normally see. Also, both Raikage-sama and I wanted to see too "

"ah.. I see " Ino said

"Ino – sama , the poison is ready for you "One of the nurses said

" Alright, I'll be there in a few " Ino said

"you should rest up yamanaka. You must be tired from the operation " Raikage said and walks away.

"yes Raikage -sama and have a nice day "Ino said

"Good job Ino " Ibiki said and walks away too with the Raikage.

"Thanks ibiki-sama " ino said.

"Well I should make the antidote now. Shinji, take me to the room they said " Ino said

"yes ma'am " Shinji said

"Don't call me ma'am " Ino said

" Yes , Ino " Shinji corrected himself

"Now that's what I like to hear " Ino said

Before Shinji guides Ino to the room, he asks C a question.

"What are you going to do now that the operation is over C-sama ?" Shinji asked

"I think I'm going to walk around " C said

"Alright , see ya C-sama "Shinji said

"Hm" and both Ino and Shinji head to the room.

 _"She's always full of surprises " C said in his head_

* * *

A few more hours pass by and Ino was able to find the antidote and cured the patient. As she walks out of the hospital with shinji, she is surprised as she sees C sitting on the benches.

"Huh, you're still here? Were u waiting for me ? " Ino questioned and teased C at the same time.

" I'm following Raikage-sama's orders " C said

"Right " ino said

 _" I thought he was actually waiting for me… ugh, why am I even thinking about this " Ino said in her head._

" And, I also –" C said but was interrupted by a group of young medic-nins

" Oh my gosh, she's there !" A bunch of young medic nins shrieked causing Ino , C, and Shinji to divert their attention to the group.

"Oh, hi there and you guys are …?" Ino said and didn't know what was going on. She was not used to having this many eyes on her.

"We heard that a konoha medic nin was in the hospital and did an amazing operation today and we couldn't help but wonder who and it was you. We're actually big fans of both you and Sakura and we aspire to be like you. We were wondering if we can get your autograph?" The youngins said.

"Oh wow, I didn't know I have fans but thank you soo much and of course you can! " Ino was flustered and then became ecstatic as she starts giving out her autograph.

Ino gives her autograph to the group and chats with them till their supervisor demanded them to be back in the building.

"Well I should be going, my shift is over " Shinji said and departs from them.

"Alright, it was nice meeting you Shinji " Ino said

"Bye Shinji " C said

Shinji leaves them and heads home leaving just C and Ino.

"Oh yeah, so what were you going to say earlier ?" Ino asked.

"I was told to inform you that you have another interrogation session in an hour " C said

"Alright so I have an hour to spare. Hm, what to do … do u have any suggestion C? " Ino asked

"There's a festival going around a few blocks from here "C said

"Great! That sounds fun! Let's go " Ino said

Both C and ino walk to the festival and as they arrive there, they see store venders selling delicious snacks and food, kids running around and playing games.

"Anyone who scores 5 points gets to choose anything from our prize section " a game vendor owner said loudly

"Sir, you look like someone that needs some fun in their life , wanna try the game? If you win , u get to choose anything you like " the owner said

"Sorry, not interested"C said

"not interested? C'mon C, this is a festival, have some fun!" Ino said

"Like I said ino, I don't play these foolish games" C said

"foolish games? The hell …" Ino said

"C'mon sir, don't you want to impress your date with this fine lady" The owner said to C as he raised his eyebrow.

"Hey, what about this C, let's make a bet. If you win, I'll pay for whatever you eat and if I win, then you pay " Ino said

"Deal, so what's the game sir?" C said

"All you have to do sir is to pop the balloons with these kunais. If you're able to pop 3 in a row then you get the chance to pick anything on our stand as your prize" The owner said

"Easy "Ino said.

The game vendor gives both C and ino three kunais each as they proceed to the game.

"Ladies first " C said since he was a gentlemen.

"Thanks but you first, I insist" Ino said

"Alright" C said

As one of Raikage's body guards and a competent kunoichi he is, C was able to pop three balloons all at once with no hesitation. There's a reason why the Raikage chose him to be one of his body gaurds.

"My turn now " Ino said

Ino throws the first two kunais and pops the balloons.

"Wow, you guys are the best I seen today " The owner said as he watches the two in awe of their abilities.

"Thanks.. now I just need to pop one more balloon " Ino said as she concentrates on hitting the balloon with the kunai

As she was about to throw the kunai , a voice interrupted her.

"HEY INO " a familiar voice that belonged to a teammate of hers

This caused Ino to miss the target, thus leading her to lose the bet. To be honest, Ino was a bit irritated because she about to win the bet, but a certain someone interrupted her. She turned her head to see who it was and it Choji, her teammate. Beside him was Shikamaru. They were walking towards her with street food from food vendors and a drink.

" I won " C said

" God dammit Choji! I was a bout to win! Why'd you interrupt me " Ino yelled at Choji

"Win what? " Choji said as he munches on some street food not knowing what Ino's talking about. He was oblivious of the game and the bet

"She's talking about the game she's playing , Choji " Shikamaru said with a drink in his hand.

"Ya, now thanks to you, I have lost a bet to C ! " Ino said with a irritated look on her face.

"stop yelling at Choji Ino, he didn't know that you had a bet" Shikamaru said and reasoned with them.

With nothing else to say back to Shikamaru, Ino sighs in defeat. She sees that Shikamaru have a drink in his hand and decided to steal it and sip some of it since she was thirsty. Due to Ino's sudden and quick movement, Shikamaru was shocked for a bit but was able to regain his composure quickly. He also didn't notice that his heart was beating a lot.

"Oi Ino " Shikamaru said

"What? I'm thirsty Shika . Here, you can have it back " Ino said as she sips more of his drink almost finishing it.

"Mendokusai ( troublesome ) " Shikamaru said as he takes the empty drink from Ino

"You basically drank all of his drink " C said

"Oh well he doesn't mind, right? Shika" Ino said as she wrapped her arms around his right arm and eyed shikamaru with her big blue beautiful eyes that he can't say no to… right.

Unknown to her, she was right. Shikamaru couldn't say no to her , especially when she eyed him with her big blue eyes. He had a soft spot for Ino that he will never tell her. It was a secret, the only person who knows about this is his best friend, Choji.

"whatever , it's not like it's the first time this happened" Shikamaru said with a yawn.

"Here " C said to Ino as he gives her a stuffed boar/pig.

"Huh? You're giving this to me ?" Ino said and was unaware of what C was doing

"I don't collect these things. I know that you females like these type of stuff so I'm giving it to you. It's useless to me anyways" C said

"Oh, well thanks C" Ino said. She was quite taken back at his kind gesture since she did not expect him to do that. The butterflies in her stomach appeared again. Ino's cheeks were tinted pink and warm.

"Your cheeks are pink Ino" Choji pointed out

"Oh, I'm just really warm. The weather's pretty warm y'know " Ino said as she tries to reduce the pink in her cheeks by fanning herself

"Right" Choji said and raises his eyebrow at the blonde

"Well why are you guys here ?"Ino asked

"Ibiki said that the next interrogation session is in 15 mins and asked me to get you… we should be heading there now " Shikamaru said

"Let's go then, my chakra is already recharged." Ino said

"You're going too right, C?" Ino asked hoping that C will say yes.

"uh yeah, I'll meet you there. I have some matters to deal with first " C said as he tried to avoid eye contact with her.

"Alright" Ino said and leaves for the interrogation session with Choji and Shikamaru leaving C all by himself.

While C sees the trio leave for the interrogation session, he walks in the opposite direction as them.

* * *

The torture and interrogation unit is the last place a civilian and kunoichi be in. It's like this in all of villages across the nation. The T& I unit is known for their dark, intense, and scary atmosphere where they take in criminals and interrogate their minds to gather information. They'll do whatever it takes to gather information even when they have to use violence or extreme measures. And sometimes, the extreme measures can leave someone dead or not. Afterall, the unit is known to have a strict reputation.

"Where's ino? " V , the chief of the torture and interrogation unit in Kumogakure, said to ibiki

"I'm here " Ino said as she walks into the room.

"let's get started then. Bring him in! " V said and commanded the workers.

The workers bring in the next criminal through the grey concrete doors. The criminal is all chained up except his legs. They then set him in an apparatus where he is unable to move and escape.

While Ino prepares herself for the interrogation she looks around the place and notices that C's not there, in contrast to what he told her earlier.

"Huh, C's not here ?" Ino asked Darui who was next to the Raikage.

"I don't know. He didn't say anything " Darui responded back to Ino

"Oh.." Ino said leaving an empty feeling in her heart. She was disappointed but didn't know about that herself. She didn't know that the blonde man had this effect on her.

Oh boy, this was not the typical crush Ino usually had. It was developing far more than a crush and she have to stop it before it gets complicated . She was then reminded of what ibiki told her.

 _Flashback_

 _"Ino, no matter what, you must try your best to not fall for anyone during the mission, especially to any Kumo shinobis. I know this sounds ridiculous but this it to avoid any political conflicts between the cloud village and the leaf village. Do you understand Ino? " Ibiki said_

End of flashback

One of the main reasons why Ino was not ready to be in a relationship, especially when she's at the peak of her career, is because she couldn't afford another heart break. The death of both her former sensei and father took a great toll of her. Although she was recognized across the nation for her splendid work during the war, she was deep down broken and depressed. She lost 2 important figures in her life in a span of months. That was when Ino hit rock bottom. It was the darkest time of her life. But, thanks to her friends and colleagues, she was able to pick herself back up stronger than ever. She was promoted to jonin within weeks after the war and began her work at the T& I unit to honor her father. For the first time in a long time , she was happy with her life. Now at the age of 21, she is promoted to the head of the T& I unit, something that her father and former sensei would be really proud of if they were still here. She didn't want to go back to the darkest time of her life and feared that if she fell in love, she'll suffer another heartbreak. Ino was afraid to be in love.

She was starting to develop feelings for C, the stoic, serious ,condescending, yet attractive male that managed to catch her attention.

" You ready Yamanaka ?" V asked

"oh.. yes I'm ready ! " Ino said as she regains her composure after being deep in thoughts.

Ino then begins lengthy process of her specialty which is interrogating minds and gathering information.

* * *

Meanwhile

C was walking around the town and stopped his tracks when he was near park. Beside the park was a body of water. There were more people at the park than usual. There were kids with their parents, young shinobis , and couples.

C looks at the scenery and view of the park and people. He is then reminded that He wanted to go to the interrogation but forced himself not to. Because if he did go, his feelings for ino would develop even more and he didn't want to go through another heart break like his past relationships. However, the truth is, he really wanted to see Ino but because of his selfish reasons, he didn't.

Also, after he saw the ino's interaction with shikamaru made him not want to develop more feelings for her more. After observing Ino and Shikamaru's relationship, he can clearly tell that it wasn't the typical boy girl friendship…. Or is it. Since he's a guy himself, he could tell that Shikamaru had feelings for her. C is a firm believer that males and females can't be just friends without one of them feeling something extra to the other.

He knew that if he ever got together with ino, their relationship would be complicated. They would also have a long distance relationship. The thought of a long distance relationship did not go well with him. He was doing this not only for himself, but for Ino too.

Avoiding Ino is the only thing he can do since he thinks it's best for him to not fall in love.

He would rather not be in love so he won't suffer another heartbreak.

But, the question is, will he succeed? or will love succeed instead?

* * *

A Few more hours passed by and the interrogation session is over.

It has been a long day for ino and she was exhausted. She had 2 lengthy interrogation sessions and did an operation at the hospital. After the session, it was already dark out and she walked around the village . She sees her lazy teammate looking at the stars at a park. Of course, kumogakure didn't have cloud watching or star gazing spots like konohagakure since they don't have grass but rocks or concrete to lie down with ( lmao idk if they do or do not… I'm totally guessing here ;) ) . Shikamaru was sitting on a bench with his arms folded together behind his head.

Ino being herself decides interrupt his quiet time.

"SHIKAMARU " Ino yelled in his ears causing to shikamaru to startle and almost fall of the bench.

" Oh what the fuck Ino ! " Shikamaru said as he suffered a mini heart attack.

"Miss me ?" Ino said and plops down to the seat next to shikamaru.

" No, I was actually enjoying my alone time"

" I know you missed me, Shika " ino said teasingly

"Whatever " Shikamaru mumbled

The two looked up and were mesmerized by the stars above them. It appeared that they were closer to the stars and they were able to see little details of them that they were not able to see back in konoha. The stars were twinkling and shining, they were majestic.

Ino being exhausted from a long day of work , let's out a subtle yawn. She sees that Shikamaru's shoulder was not occupied and looked comfy and so she let her to rest her head on it.

While gazing at the stars, Shikamaru feels a sudden weight on his right shoulder. He turns his head slightly and sees that Ino was resting her head on his shoulder. And, because of her sudden movement, his heart started to beat quickly again and a pink tint appeared on his cheek. Thank god it was already dark outside otherwise he'll be embarrassed and Ino would tease him for it.

"Oi, what are you doing " Shikamaru said

"Relax Shika. I'm just exhausted and am using your shoulder as your pillow. It's not like this is the first time doing this and, stop saying "oi" Ino said

She was right. This wasn't the first time she rested her head on his shoulder, and the fact that he was feeling this way just recently was bothering him. He was confused with his feelings for Ino.

For someone who has an IQ over 200, Shikamaru did not know much about love, relationships, and females.

The two continue star gazing for a few more minutes to an hour and during that time, Shikamaru reached to a conclusion and realization about his feelings.

He likes Ino. He likes Ino more than a friend. Shikamaru did not expect this to happen. Ino and him endured soo much together. They started being friends since they were toddlers till now. Shikamaru witnessed Ino's growth and Ino witnessed his growth too. Did he value his friendship with Ino? Yes.

Will he risk the friendship for a relationship?

He's not sure. But, his friendship with Ino is very important to him. His answer to that is inconclusive.

After coming to a conclusion about his feelings, Shikamaru sees that Ino was spacing out.

"What's with that face Ino. Is there something wrong ?" Shikamaru asked with her head still resting on his shoulder.

"Nothing… I'm just wondering why people would lie " Ino said

"Oh, well there's many reasons why people do that —" Shiakamru said and was interrupted by Ino

"What do you think of C, Shika?" Ino cut him off

"what's with the sudden question about him" Shkamaru asked

"just answer my question " Ino said

"I don't know. I don't know much about him so I can't give you a proper answer" Shikamaru responded back

"Oh "Ino said

"But, he doesn't seem like a troublesome person " Shikamaru said as he tries to lighten up her mood.

Ino chuckles at his comment and lightly slaps him arm

Both Ino and Shikamaru then continues gazing at the star. Shikamaru sees that Ino was shivering slightly from the chill night and wraps his arm around her to share his warmth.

* * *

if you have any questions, feel free to post it as a review, PM me, orrrr ask me on curious cat - /Miche19


	8. Not an update, Sorry

um Hi...?

I know its been more than a year since the last update and I really want to apologize to my dear readers about it. My reason for the lack of updates... well tbh I don't have much. My main reason was due to school work and some personal things as well. I don't know if any of you bothered to check my profile but I did say that I'll update sometime this month. But lately, I've been having a hard time. Ever since the start of 2019, I've been dealing with a lot of struggles mentally. More than usual. One of my most dear and close family member of mine has been in the hospital a few times already. I don't want to say much about it but she's 90... and her health is not the best at the moment. I'm mentally and physically drained. My family and I are having an extremely hard time for the past few months. Anyways, I just wanted to tell u guys, my readers, the reason for my lack of - more like no updates. Once everything gets back to normal in my life... hopefully, I'll definitely make sure to update Crossing Paths. I owe you guys an apology and I'm really sorry.


End file.
